A Titan amongst nanotubes

Current research work in Leipzig points to quite new prospects for the use of titanium nanotubes which can be used as high-sensitivity sensors for gases and liquids.
At the Translation Centre for Regenerative Medicine (TRM) and at the Leibniz Institute for Surface Modification (IOM) scientists are investigating the mechanical properties of a matrix composed of titanium dioxide nanotubes in connection with production parameters. This has led to the discovery that the oscillation and damping behaviour of a nanotube matrix on a titanium substrate modifies significantly if the tubes come into contact with gases or liquids, a reaction that is very specific in each case.

“Due to the ease of measurement of the modifications to the mechanical properties and in view of their element specificity, the nanotubes we examined were very suitable as sensors for gases and liquids,” states Prof. Stefan Mayr in summary of the findings. The system responds to even the smallest molecular volumes and therefore could be used in medicine in lab-on-chip applications, for example for blood sample examination or cell cultivation.

www.trm.uni-leipzig.de