A wide number of polymer materials has well-known applications as prosthetics materials, but the application of polymers in the body often induces inflammatory reactions and/or fibrosis, if the growth of specialized cells is not favoured Therefore it is important to check in vitro the performance of cells from the target implant site on the material.
In the present paper we present our results of the modification of polyethylene, polyurethane and polytetrafluorethylene surfaces by plasma immersion ion implantation.
The polymer surfaces were treated by nitrogen ion fluxes. The surface properties were analysed by drop shape analysis for the surface energy, FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, optical microscopy and AFM. The growth of endothelial cells on polymer surfaces was analysed by the Alamar blue™ redox assay, statistical evaluation of the cell distribution on microphotographs and by FTIR spectra.
Ion implantation caused chemical activity (oxygen containing groups, unsaturated groups and free radicals) of the polymer and made the surfaces more hydrophilic. The cell growth was more homogeneous on ion implanted polyethylene and polytetrafluorethylene surfaces in contrast to the untreated surfaces, where a very spotted cell growth was found. This indicates that the adhesion of cells was sufficient for an equal distribution over the surface. As result, the cells formed bigger colonies 2 days after seeding on the modified than on the initial surfaces. In conclusion, the polymer surfaces after ion implantation become more acceptable for the cells, what can be useful polymer prosthetics.
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