PET fiber fabrics modified with bioactive titanium oxide for bone substitutes

A rectangular specimen of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was soaked in a titania solution composed of titanium isopropoxide, water, ethanol and nitric acid at 25°C for 1 h. An amorphous titanium oxide was formed uniformly on the surface of PET specimen, but did not form an apatite on its surface in a simulated body fluid (SBF) within 3 d. The PET plate formed with the amorphous titanium oxide was subsequently soaked in water or HCl solutions with different concentrations at 80°C for different periods of time. The titanium oxide on PET was transformed into nano-sized anatase by the water treatment and into nano-sized brookite by 0.10 M HCl treatment at 80°C for 8 d. The former did not form the apatite on its surface in SBF within 3 d, whereas the latter formed the apatite uniformly on its surface. Adhesive strength of the titanium oxide and apatite layers to PET plate was increased by pre-treatment of PET with 2 wt% NaOH solution at 40°C for 2 h. A two-dimensional fabric of PET fibers 24 μm in diameter was subjected to the NaOH pre-treatment at 40°C, titania solution treatment at 25°C and subsequent 0.10 M HCl treatment at 80°C. Thus treated PET fabric formed the apatite uniformly on surfaces of individual fibers constituting the fabric in SBF within 3 d. Two or three dimensional PET fabrics modified with the nano-sized brookite on surfaces of the individual fibers constituting the fabric by the present method are believed to be useful as flexible bone substitutes, since they could be integrated with living bone through the apatite formed on their constituent fibers.