Nitrogen plasma surface modification enhances cellular compatibility of aluminosilicate glass

The effect of Active Screen Plasma Nitriding (ASPN) treatment on the surface-cellular compatibility of an inert aluminosilicate glass surface has been investigated. ASPN is a novel surface engineering technique, the main advantage of which is the capacity to treat homogeneously all kind of materials surfaces of any shape. A conventional direct current nitriding unit has been used together with an active screen experimental arrangement. The material that was treated was an ionomer glass of the composition 4.5SiO2-3Al2O3-1.5P2O5-3CaO-2CaF2. The modified glass surface showed increased hardness and elastic modulus, decreased surface roughness. The incorporation of nitrogen-containing groups was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The modified surface favoured attachment and proliferation of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts.