Analysis of cell-adhesion surface induced by ion-beam irradiation into biodegradable polymer

Biodegradable polymers such as poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) are widely used to construct cell scaffolds for tissue engineering. We previously reported that cell attachment on a PLLA surface was improved by ion-beam irradiation. In this report, we attempted to characterize the cell-adhesion surface induced by ion-beam irradiation into PLLA by means of X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), Raman scattering measurement (Raman), and a fluorescence antibody technique. The substrates used were PLLA films; Ar+ ion-beam irradiation was performed at an energy of 50 keV with fluences of 1 × 1014 and 1 × 1015 ions/cm2. The results of XPS and Raman studies indicated the formation of new carbon structures and new functional groups by ion-beam irradiation. The protein adsorption was improved by Ar+ irradiation. We concluded that the cell-adhesion surface was induced as a consequence of production of new functional groups by ion-beam irradiation.