Chemical modification of TiO2 nanotube arrays for label-free optical biosensing applications

In this study, we have fabricated TiO2 nanotube arrays by the potentiostatic anodic oxidation of Ti foils in fluoride-containing electrolyte and explored them as versatile devices for biosensing applications. TiO2 nanotubes have been chemically modified in order to bind Protein A as a specific target analyte for the optical biosensing. The obtained structures have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, water contact angle, fluorescence microscopy, spectroscopic reflectometry and photoluminescence. Investigations show that the prepared TiO2 nanotubes, 2.5 mu m long and 75 nm thick, can be easily and efficiently bio-modified, and the obtained structures are strongly photoluminescent, thus suitable for the label-free biosensing applications in the range of mu M, due to their peculiar optical properties. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.