Biocompatible Eu-doped TiO2 nanodot film with in situ protein adsorption characterization property

•Simple preparation of Eu doped TiO2 nanodot films•Eu doped nanodot films show good biocompatibility.•Easy in situ evaluation of protein adsorption via photo luminescence of Eu

Europium (Eu) doped TiO2 nanodot films were prepared through a phase-separation-induced self-assembly method. Eu was doped to impart the nanodots with luminescence property so that the protein adsorption could be in situ characterized quantitatively. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was adsorbed on the surface of Eu-doped titanium nanodot films. It was found that the photo luminescence intensity at 616 nm decreased with the increase of BSA adsorption time. Also, Eu-doped TiO2 nanodot films showed good biocompatibility. These results suggested that Eu-doped TiO2 nanodot films could provide a feasible in situ way to evaluate protein adsorption if prepared on the surface of bioimplants.