Investigation into the biocompatibility and antibacterial performance of TiO2 silicone nanocomposites

Incorporationof nanoparticles into silicone elastomers to form silicone nanocomposites is anarea of ongoing research, with a broad range of biomedical applications. Addition-curesilicone nanocomposite dispersions were prepared, containing TiO2 ofvarying nanoparticle sizes and concentrations. All TiO2 silicone nanocompositesremained biocompatible (cell viability >70% relative to control silicone) whenassessed via direct contact MTT assay. However, results from bacterialadherence studies demonstrated that 1000 nm and 200 nm TiO2 nanocompositesdisplayed a greater antibacterial effect in comparison to 100 nm and 20 nm TiO2nanocomposites. The data suggests TiO2 silicone nanocompositespossess antibacterial properties (that is dependent on particle size) andare cytocompatible, warranting further research into potential uses forbiomedical applications.