Micro- and nano-porous TiO2 films were created on the surface of Ti implants using micro-arc oxidation and anodic titanium oxide treatments, respectively, to load a sol-gel derived silica xerogel for the controlled release of the antibiotic drug, tetracycline-hydrochloride (TCH). When the silica xerogel containing TCH was loaded into porous TiO2 films, a very high drug loading efficiency was observed compared to when it was loaded in Ti implants without a TiO2 film. Moreover, TCH was released in a controlled manner for up to 7 days. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.