Enhancing Antibacterial\nProperties of Titanium Implants\nthrough Covalent Conjugation of Self-Assembling Fmoc-Phe-Phe Dipeptide\non Titania Nanotubes

Bacterial infections and biofilm formation are significant\nchallenges\nfor medical implants. While titanium nanotube engineering improves\nbiocompatibility, it cannot prevent bacterial adhesion and biofilm\nformation. Optimizing the biomaterial’s surface chemistry is\nvital for its desired functioning in the biological environment. This\nstudy demonstrates the covalent conjugating of the self-assembling\ndipeptide N-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl-diphenylalanine (Fmoc-FF) onto\ntitanium nanotube surfaces (TiNTs) without altering the topography.\nFmoc-FF peptides, in conjugation with TiNTs, can inhibit biofilm formation,\neradicate pre-existing biofilms, and kill bacteria. This functionalization\nimparts antibacterial properties to the surface while retaining beneficial\nnanotube topography, synergistically enhancing bioactivity. Surface\ncharacterization by XPS, FT-IR, EDS, and SEM confirmed the successful\nfunctionalization. Bacterial adhesion experiments showed a significantly\nimproved antibacterial activity of the functionalized TiNT surfaces.\nThis study opens future possibilities for associating biomedical applications\nsuch as cell–cell interactions, tissue engineering, and controlled\ndrug delivery of multifunctional self-assembling short peptides with\nimplant materials through surface functionalization.