Abstract
Protein adhesion and cell response to plasma-treated polymer surfaces were studied. The polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was treated in either an oxygen plasma to make the surface hydrophilic, or a tetrafluoromethane CF4 plasma to make the surface hydrophobic. The plasma source was radiofrequency (RF) discharge. The adsorption of albumin and other proteins from a cell-culture medium onto these surfaces was studied using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The cellular response to plasma-treated surfaces was studied as well using an MTT assay and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fastest adsorption rate was found on the hydrophilic oxygen plasma-treated sample, and the lowest was found on the pristine untreated sample. Additionally, the amount of adsorbed proteins was higher for the oxygen-plasma-treated surface, and the adsorbed layer was more viscoelastic. In addition, cell adhesion studies support this finding because the best cell adhesion was observed on oxygen-plasma-treated substrates.
Highlights
Polymers are often used in various biomedical applications for medical implants, for tissue engineering and for therapeutic purposes, e.g., for studying cancer metastasis [1,2,3]
O2 plasma treatment resulted in a very hydrophilic surface with a contact angle of only a few degrees, while CF4 plasma treatment resulted in the formation of a hydrophobic surface with a contact angle of 110°
At low protein incubation time, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated a similar concentration of proteins on both plasma-treated surfaces in comparison to the pristine untreated sample
Summary
Polymers are often used in various biomedical applications for medical implants, for tissue engineering and for therapeutic purposes, e.g., for studying cancer metastasis [1,2,3]. In these cases, the polymers interact with blood proteins or cells. If there are many proteins, competitive adsorption occurs. The adsorbed protein layer has an important influence on cell adhesion, which is the last step in the interaction between the polymer and the host environment. Knowledge about protein adsorption and conformation is important for explaining cell-surface interactions
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