Surface Chemistry, Crystal Structure, Size and Topography Role in the Albumin Adsorption Process on TiO2 Anatase Crystallographic Faces and Its 3D-Nanocrystal: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Abstract

TiO2 is widely used in biomaterial implants. The topography, chemical and structural properties of titania surfaces are an important aspect to study. The size of TiO2 nanoparticles synthetized by sol–gel method can influence the responses in the biological environment, and by using appropriate heat treatments different contents of different polymorphs can be formed. Protein adsorption is a crucial step for the biological responses, involving, in particular, albumin, the most abundant blood protein. In this theoretical work, using molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics methods, the adsorption process of an albumin subdomain is reported both onto specific different crystallographic faces of TiO2 anatase and also on its ideal three-dimensional nanosized crystal, using the simulation protocol proposed in my previous theoretical studies about the adsorption process on hydrophobic ordered graphene-like or hydrophilic amorphous polymeric surfaces. The different surface chemistry of anatase crystalline faces and the nanocrystal topography influence the adsorption process, in particular the interaction strength and protein fragment conformation, then its biological activity. This theoretical study can be a useful tool to better understand how the surface chemistry, crystal structure, size and topography play a key role in protein adsorption process onto anatase surface so widely used as biomaterial.