Apart from proximately neuromorphic technologies, TiO2-based memristors have also found application in various sensors. The principle of memristive sensorics is based on the dependency of the resistive switching on various external stimuli. This includes recording of mechanical energy (Vilmi et al., 2016), hydrogen detection (Hossein-Babaei and Rahbarpour, 2011; Strungaru et al., 2015; Haidry et al., 2017; Vidiš et al., 2019), γ-ray sensing (Abunahla et al., 2016), and various fluidic-based sensors, such as sensors for pH (Hadis et al., 2015a) and glucose concentration (Hadis et al., 2015b). In addition, TiO2 thin films may generate photoinduced electron–hole pairs, which give rise to UV radiation sensors (Hossein-Babaei et al., 2012). Recently, the biosensing properties of TiO2-based memristors have been demonstrated in the detection of the bovine serum albumin protein molecule (Sahu and Jammalamadaka, 2019). Furthermore, this work has also demonstrated that the introduction of an additional graphene oxide layer may effectively prevent the growth of multidimensional and random conductive paths, resulting in a lower switching voltage, better endurance, and a higher resistance switching ratio. This opens up a new horizon for further functional convergence of metal oxides and two-dimensional memristive materials and interfaces (Zhang et al., 2019a).
For a review published in 2023 in the journal Environmental Pollution, researchers examined E171 as a possible factor promoting obesity-related metabolic disorders. Because gut microbiota play an important role in immune function maintenance and development, and because titanium dioxide as a food additive has been shown to alter gut microbiota, researchers wanted to review “the dysregulations along the gut microbiota-immune system axis after oral TiO2 exposure compared to those reported in obese or diabetic patients, and to highlight potential mechanisms by which foodborne TiO2 nanoparticles may increase the susceptibility to develop obesity-related metabolic disorders.” The study authors discovered recurrent changes in the gut microbiota composition when exposed to titanium dioxide nanoparticles, with an imbalance of intestinal symbiotic microbiota. These changes and imbalances were also reported and played a role in the development of obesity, the authors wrote. This highlights “foodborne TiO2 nanoparticles as an endocrine disruptor-like chemical promoting obesity-related disorders,” the authors concluded.
Infrared analysis showed that the characteristics bands for the bare nanoparticles are still exhibited in the vitamins@P25TiO2NPs spectra, such as a wide peak in 450–1028 cm−1 related to the stretching vibration of Ti-O-Ti and other peaks in 1630 cm−1 and 3400 cm−1, which represent the surface OH groups stretching. The IR spectrum of vitaminB2@P25TiO2NPs showed signs of binding between compounds. The OH bending peak (1634 cm−1) corresponding to bare nanoparticles disappeared, and the NH2 bending band characteristic of vitamin B2 appeared (1650 cm−1). The IR spectrum of vitaminC@P25TiO2NPs also showed signs of successful functionalization. Bands at 1075 cm−1; 1120 cm−1; 1141 cm−1 were observed, which are originated by C
O-C vibrations present in the vitamin C. The intense band at 1672 cm−1 is attributed to the C = O stretching in the lactone ring while the peak at 1026 cm−1 is ascribed to the stretching vibration Ti-O-C. Wide bands at 3880–3600 cm−1 are related to stretching vibration OH groups, but those disappear in the modified nanoparticles spectrum. These observations confirm the interactions between the P25TiO2NPs and the vitamins [35].