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Plasma surface modification and characterization of collagen‐based artificial cornea for enhanced epithelialization
Author(s) -
Rafat Mehrdad,
Griffith May,
Hakim Malik,
Muzakare Lea,
Li Frank,
Khulbe K.C.,
Matsuura Takeshi
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.25305
Subject(s) - contact angle , biocompatibility , materials science , surface roughness , glutaraldehyde , surface energy , surface modification , cornea , polymer , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , composite material , chromatography , optics , physics , engineering , metallurgy
Argon plasma treatment enhanced the attachment of epithelial cells to a collagen‐based artificial cornea crosslinked using glutaraldehyde (GA) and glutaraldehyde‐polyethylene oxide dialdehyde (GA‐PEODA) systems. The epithelialization of untreated and treated surfaces was evaluated by the seeding and growth of human corneal epithelial cells. Characterization of polymer surface properties such as surface hydrophilicity and roughness was also made by contact angle measurement and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Contact angle analysis revealed that the surface hydrophilicity significantly increased after the treatment. In addition, AFM characterization showed an increase in surface roughness through argon plasma treatment. Based on the biological and surface analysis, argon plasma treatment displays promising potential for biocompatibility enhancement of collagen‐based artificial corneas. It was also found that the cell attachment to artificial cornea surfaces was influenced by the combined effects of surface chemistry (i.e., surface energy), polymer surface morphology (i.e., surface roughness), and polar interactions between functional groups at the polymer surface and cell membrane proteins. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007