Abstrakt
Ti-doped hydrogen free diamond-like carbon (DLC) layers of dopation up to similar to 25 at.% were prepared by dual beam pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using two excimer lasers. The arrangement allows continuous fine tuning of dopant concentration on a large scale and deposition flexibility.
The layers were prepared on Si(1 0 0) and Ti6Al4V substrates at room temperature. The surface morphology, mechanical properties, bonds, composition, morphology of human osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells, their metabolic activity and production of osteocalcin, a marker of osteogenic cells' differentiation were tested.
The films' composition changed after x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surface cleaning by argon clusters. Adhesion moved with Ti dopation from 4 N (DLC film) to 11 N (25 at.% of Ti in DLC).
Creation of TiC was observed for higher Ti dopation. The contact angle and surface free energy stayed unchanged for higher Ti dopation.
Saos-2 cells had the highest metabolic activity/viability on DLC with 10 at.% of Ti and on control polystyrene dishes on days 1 and 3. The Ti dopation improved the formation of vinculin-containing focal adhesion plaques in Saos-2 cells.
Immunofluorescence staining revealed similar production of osteocalcin in cells on all tested samples.