The first step in the interaction of a microorganism and a
substrate is the adhesion. The microorganism attachment
is suspected to be governed by the physico-chemical properties
of the substrate (zeta potential, surface energy, roughness).
This may be avoided if the contact angle between the microorganism
and the substrate is zero (superhydrophilicity) or 180◦
(superhydrophobicity). The titania coating can make the surface
properties superhydrophilic and prevent the attachment of
the microorganisms to the surface. The Ti(IV) cations of the
coating are reduced to Ti(III)6 creating oxygen vacancy. Subsequently,
the created holes are trapped at the lattice sites close to
the surface or to the lattice of O2− anions