Abstract
Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) coatings combine a very low surface roughness with the outstanding diamond properties, such as superlative hardness, low self‐friction coefficient, high wear and corrosion resistance, and biotolerance, which are ideal features for applications in medicine (knee and hip replacement) and surgical tools. The present work presents a comprehensive study of the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of NCD films grown by hot‐filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) technique, aiming such future applications. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in vitro by seeding human gingival fibroblasts on the NCD surface for 14 days, while specific biocompatibility was assessed on samples seeded with human bone marrow‐derived osteoblasts during 21 days. The NCD coatings proved to be noncytotoxic in the preliminary human gingival fibroblast cell cultures, as denoted by a notable sequence of cell attachment, spreading, and proliferation events. In the specific biocompatibility assay envisaging bone tissue applications, NCD coatings induced human osteoblast proliferation and the stimulation of differentiation markers, compared to standard polystyrene tissue culture plates.
Highlights
Diamond has been one of the most desired and investigated materials in the past years
Human osteoblast-like cells cultured on polished Si3N4 ceramics showed enhanced proliferation and osteocalcin production compared to standard polystyrene culture plates [17]
These include the contact of blood platelet with NCD-coated medical steel [29], the response of osteoblastic SaOs-2 cells to a composite of NCD and amorphous carbon [30] and to NCD deposited by MWCVD [31], the cell adhesion of human dermal fibroblasts on photochemically functionalized ultrananocrystalline diamond surfaces [32], and the behaviour of several cell lines on ultrananocrystalline diamond [33]
Summary
Diamond has been one of the most desired and investigated materials in the past years. The high wear resistance and the low coefficient of friction of NCD allow the reduction of the amount of wear debris generated during the joint functioning, increasing the life of the prosthesis [3, 4]. Even more, in this case, Journal of Nanomaterials. The present work reports the in vitro study of the citotoxicity and biocompatibility of NCD films grown on Si3N4 substrates by hot-filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) technique, using Ar-CH4-H2 gas mixtures, considering their future application as a coating for joint implants (knee and hip replacement). Cytotoxicity was evaluated by seeding NCD coatings with human gingival fibroblasts while specific biocompatibility was assessed by the characterization of the seeded samples with human bone marrow-derived osteoblasts
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