Journal of Oral Tissue Engineering

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Ultraviolet Irradiation Alters Adsorption Behavior of Albumin and Lysozyme on Titania Particles

Tadashi MIURA1, Michitaro IIDA2, Isao MURATA2 and Masao YOSHINARI1
1Division of Oral Implants Research, Oral Health Science Center,
Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan
2Japan Institute for Advanced Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan


J Oral Tissue Engin 2011;9(3):147-151

SYNOPSIS
The aim of the present study was to clarify the effect of physicochemical treatment of titania surfaces on protein adsorption. Two electrodynamically different proteins, albumin and lysozyme, were selected. Unmodified titania particles suspended in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4) adsorbed albumin at a rate of 14.5%. When the titania particles were mixed with albumin after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, the adsorption rate increased more than 2-fold to 30.7% (p<0.05). Conversely, when rutile-form titania was mixed with albumin, even after UV irradiation, the rate showed only a slight increase to approximately 15%. Lysozyme showed an adsorption rate of 34.6% to UV-irradiated titania particles and 30.6% to unmodified particles. At the pH of the test solution, the two targeted proteins showed an opposite charge. These results showed that UV-irradiation elicited a dramatic shift in the charge of the titania particles. This suggests that controlling the physicochemical nature of a scaffold, including its surface electrical charge, would enhance its viability in tissue engineering. We believe that this study will provide valuable information for the development of strategies aimed at control of protein adsorption and functionality in material surface modification.

Key words: surface modification; titanium oxide; UV-irradiation; protein adsorption