Surface properties and cell behaviour of diamond-like carbon coatings produced by plasma immersion

The morphology, microstructure and roughness of the diamond-like carbon (DLC) films produced by plasma immersion were investigated. Vero cells (fibroblasts) were utilized for the in vitro biocompatibility studies of the DLC-coated Ti–13Nb–13Zr alloy. In the cytotoxicity assay, fibroblast cells were cultured for a period of 24 h, and in the adhesion assay, cells were cultured for a period of 2 and 24 h. The cell morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). No evidence was found that the presence of the DLC coating had any adverse effect. Our results show that the adherence of fibroblasts was significantly enhanced when Ti alloy was coated with DLC from the uncoated.