TiO2/PEG as smart anticorrosion and drug-eluting platforms in inflammatory conditions

Sulieman Ibraheem Shelash Al-Hawary; Ruqayah Taher Habash; Munther Abosaooda; Ahmed Hjazi; Ebraheem Abdu Musad Saleh; Zahraa F Hassan; Masoud Soroush Bathaei

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25605

TiO₂/PEG as smart anticorrosion and drug-eluting platforms in inflammatory conditions

Heliyon. 2024 Feb 3;10(4):e25605. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25605. eCollection 2024 Feb 29.

Authors

Sulieman Ibraheem Shelash Al-Hawary¹, Ruqayah Taher Habash², Munther Abosaooda³, Ahmed Hjazi⁴, Ebraheem Abdu Musad Saleh⁵, Zahraa F Hassan⁶, Masoud Soroush Bathaei⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Business Administration, Business School, Al al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Jordan.
² College of Pharmacy, National University of Science and Technology, Dhi Qar, Iraq.
³ College of Pharmacy, The Islamic University, Najaf, Iraq.
⁴ Department of Medical Laboratory, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Humanities in Al-Kharj, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ College of Dentistry, Al-Ayen University, Thi-Qar, Iraq.
⁷ Department of Materials Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The failure of a titanium implant is often attributed to inflammatory reactions following implantation. This study focuses on the synthesis of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) layer on porous titanium dioxide (TiO₂) coatings using plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). This PEG layer serves as a foundation for a drug-eluting platform designed to respond to pH stimuli during inflammation. Betamethasone (BET), a widely used anti-inflammatory drug, was loaded onto the pH-responsive functional PEG layers. The application of the PEG-BET layer onto TiO₂ coatings through the vacuum dip coating method resulted in a pH-sensitive sustained release of BET over a 30-day period. Notably, the release rates were 81% at pH 5.0 and 55% at pH 7.2. Electrochemical corrosion tests conducted in both normal and acidic inflammatory solutions demonstrated that duplex composite coatings offer superior protection compared to simple oxide coatings. In a pH 5.0 solution, corrosion current density measurements revealed values of 1.75 μA cm^-2 (PEO/PEG-BET), 8.87 μA cm^-2 (PEO), and 49.17 μA cm^-2 (bare titanium). These results highlight the effectiveness of the PEO/PEG-BET layer in sealing pores within PEO coatings, subsequently reducing the infiltration of corrosive ions in inflammatory environments.

Keywords: Composite coatings; Corrosion protection; Inflammatory; Smart drug delivery; Titanium implants.