Doped Sol-gel TiO₂Films for Biological Applications

Abstract

Mono and multilayer TiO2(Fe, $PEG_{600}$) films were deposited by the dip-coating on $SiO_2$/glass substrate using sol-gel method. In an attempt to improve the antibacterial properties of doped $TiO_2$ films, the influence of the iron oxides and polyethilenglycol ($PEG_{600}$) on the morphological, optical, surface chemical composition and biological properties of nanostructured layers was studied. Complementary measurements were performed including Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with the fractal analysis, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and antibacterial tests. It was found that different concentrations of Fe and $PEG_{600}$ added to coating solution strongly influence the porosity and morphology at nanometric scale related to fractal behaviour and the elemental and chemical states of the surfaces as well. The thermal treatment under oxidative atmosphere leads to films densification and oxides phase stabilization. The antibacterial activity of coatings against Escherichia Coli bacteria was examined by specific antibacterial tests.