The influence of the titanium dioxide surface modification on the selected physicochemical and biological characteristics of the biopolymer foams.

This study investigates the impact of titanium dioxide surface modification, applied by atomic layer deposition, on the structure and selected physicochemical and biological properties of biopolymer foams. Porous foams were fabricated using freeze-drying of tailored polymer blends, followed by atomic layer deposition deposition of titanium dioxide layers. The surface modification aimed to enhance the several important characteristics of the material - it's surface properties like stability in biological medium, internal structure and architecture, as well as antibacterial performance, which are critical for applications in regenerative medicine on in general biomedical field. Comprehensive characterization included infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy and X-ray microtomography. The results demonstrate that the thickness and uniformity of TiO₂ coatings can be precisely tuned by adjusting the number of ALD cycles, yielding homogeneous coverage without compromising the open cellular structure or pore connectivity of the foams. The study confirms that atomic layer deposition can be an effective method for the controlled functionalization of biopolymer foams, offering new possibilities for developing advanced biomaterials with tailored surface properties and enhanced performance in biomedical applications. This study was financed through the Norwegian Financial Mechanism "Norway Grants" via the National Centre for Research and Development in Poland under the Programme SGS 2020, grant agreement no. NOR/SGS/engiSCAF/0293/2020-00.