Artículos SCI

We have studied the effect of the UV induced superhydrophilic wetting of TiO2 thin films on the osteoblasts cell adhesion and cytoskeletal organization on its surface. To assess any effect of the photo-catalytic removal of adventitious carbon as a factor for the enhancement of the osteoblast development, 100 nm amorphous TiO2 thin layers were deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a substrate well known for its poor adhesion and limited wettability and biocompatibility. The TiO2/PET materials were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy and their wetting behavior under light illumination studied by the sessile drop method. The amorphous TiO2 thin films showed a very poor photo-catalytic activity even if becoming superhydrophilic after illumination. The illuminated samples recovered partially its initial hydrophobic state only after their storage in the dark for more than 20 days. Osteoblasts (HOB) were seeded both on bare PET and on TiO2/PET samples immediately after illumination and also after four weeks storage in darkness. Cell attachment was much more efficient on the immediately illuminated TiO2/PET samples, with development of focal adhesions and cell traction forces. Although we cannot completely discard some photo-catalytic carbon removal as a factor contributing to this cell enhanced attachment, our photodegradation experiments on amorphous TiO2 are conclusive to dismiss this effect as the major cause for this behavior. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2013.

Smectite is a family of clay minerals that have important applications. In the majority of these clay minerals, the hydrated interlayer cations play a crucial role on the properties of the clay. Moreover, many studies have revealed that both thermal and grinding treatments affect the MMT structure and that interlayer cations play an important role in the degradation of the structure, primarily after mechanical treatment. In this study, the effects of these treatments on MMTs homoionized with mono (Na+, Li+ or K+) or polyvalent (Ca2+ or Al3+) cations were analyzed by the combination of a set of techniques that can reveal the difference of bulk phenomena from those produced on the surface of the particles. The thermal and mechanical (in an oscillating mill) treatments affected the framework composition and structure of the MMT, and the thermal treatment caused less drastic changes that the mechanical one. The effect of the interlayer cations is primarily due to the oxidation state and, to the size of the cations, which also influenced the disappearance of aluminum in the MMT tetrahedral sheet. These treatments caused a decrease in the surface area and an increase in the particle agglomeration and the isoelectric point. Both treatments caused the leaching of the framework aluminum. Furthermore, the mechanical treatment induced structural defects, such as the breakup of the particles, which favored the dehydroxylation and the increase of the isoelectric points of the montmorillonites.