Hydrophilic sol-gel TiO₂ coating on procaine-loaded injector needle for painless clinical treatments

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) coatings are demanded in clinical applications due to their biocompatible, porosity, and semiconducting properties. Drug release studies take advantage of these unique aspects of TiO₂ for painless injection for those who have to take medicine through the injection frequently. In this study, TiO₂ was prepared via the sol-gel method with Titanium tetra isopropoxide (TTIP) precursor in alcohol solvent for pH 3, 4, and 5 values. The prepared solution was coated on stainless steel substrates and injectors via dip coating. Following these steps, samples were calcinated at various temperatures (100°C, 300°C, 500°C, 700°C). The structural, physical, and chemical composition, chemical bond, wettability, and drug-release properties of coated samples were researched. Contact angle values affirmed that high temperatures and ultraviolet (UV)-light irradiation made samples more hydrophilic (26°±5° at 700°C for pH 4). Procaine, a short-time period local anaesthetic, was chosen as a model drug. Increased calcination temperature and raised hydrophilicity led to improve the released drug amount. Drug release studies were carried out using Franz diffusion cells at 36.5°C. Samples at 500°C calcinated released the highest amount of drug (90%) for 45 sec injection time. This study shed light on how TiO₂ coating can be successfully utilized for clinical applications in the future.