Biocompatibility of Cyclopropylamine-Based Plasma Polymers Deposited at Sub-Atmospheric Pressure on Poly (ε-caprolactone) Nanofiber Meshes
Ke Vin Chan,
Mahtab Asadian,
Iuliia Onyshchenko,
Heidi Declercq,
Rino Morent,
Nathalie De Geyter
Affiliations
Ke Vin Chan
Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Sint-Pieternieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Mahtab Asadian
Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Sint-Pieternieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Iuliia Onyshchenko
Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Sint-Pieternieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Heidi Declercq
Tissue Engineering Group, Department of Human Structure and Repair, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, B3, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Rino Morent
Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Sint-Pieternieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Nathalie De Geyter
Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Ghent University, Sint-Pieternieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
In this work, cyclopropylamine (CPA) monomer was plasma-polymerized on poly (ε-caprolactone) nanofiber meshes using various deposition durations to obtain amine-rich surfaces in an effort to improve the cellular response of the meshes. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to investigate the surface morphology and surface chemical composition of the PCL samples, respectively. The measured coating thickness was found to linearly increase with deposition duration at a deposition rate of 0.465 nm/s. XPS analysis revealed that plasma exposure time had a considerable effect on the surface N/C and O/C ratio as well as on amino grafting efficiency and amino selectivity. In addition, cell studies showed that cell adhesion and proliferation significantly improved for all coated samples.
