Thermal, chemical and antimicrobial characterization of bioactive titania synthesized by sol–gel method

Chemical stability, anticorrosive properties and photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) are among the most important characteristics for industrial and environmental applications. It is well known that titanium biomaterials’ proper- ties and response depend significantly on the synthesis method. This work reports the sol–gel synthesis of TiO 2 particles, followed by the studies of their structure, thermal analysis and antimicrobial properties. The main issues were to evaluate the chemical structure of the particles by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the thermal behavior by thermogravimetric analysis and the particle size of the TiO 2 by SEM and BET experiments. In particular, this characterization aims at verify- ing the possibility to use these materials to prevent infections after implantation. The antibacterial activity of TiO 2 particles was assessed using Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. Finally, the bioactivity of TiO 2 particles were estimated by soaking them for 21 days in simulated body fluid with the view to evaluate their biological properties.