Endothelialization of TiO2 Nanorods Coated with Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Films.

Carbon plasma nanocoatings with controlled fraction of sp3-C bonding were deposited on TiO2 nanorod arrays (TNAs) by DC magnetic-filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (FCVAD). The cytocompatibility of TNA/carbon nanocomposites was systematically investigated. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured on the nanocomposites for 4, 24, and 72 h in vitro. It was found that plasma-treated TNAs exhibited excellent cell viability as compared to the untreated. Importantly, our results show that cellular responses positively correlate with the sp3-C content. The cells cultured on high sp3-C-contented substrates exhibit better attachment, shape configuration, and proliferation. These findings indicate that the nanocomposites with high sp3-C content possessed superior cytocompatibility. Notably, the nanocomposites drastically reduced platelet adhesion and activation in our previous studies. Taken together, these findings suggest the TNA/carbon scaffold may serve as a guide for the design of multi-functionality devices that promotes endothelialization and improves hemocompatibility.

通过直流磁过滤阴极真空弧沉积（FCVAD）在二氧化钛纳米棒阵列（TNAs）上沉积了具有可控sp3 - C键分数的碳等离子体纳米涂层。系统地研究了TNA/碳纳米复合材料的细胞相容性。将人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVECs）在纳米复合材料上体外培养4、24和72小时。发现与未处理的相比，等离子体处理的TNAs表现出优异的细胞活力。重要的是，我们的结果表明细胞反应与sp3 - C含量呈正相关。在高sp3 - C含量的基底上培养的细胞表现出更好的附着、形状构造和增殖。这些发现表明具有高sp3 - C含量的纳米复合材料具有优异的细胞相容性。值得注意的是，在我们之前的研究中，纳米复合材料显著降低了血小板的粘附和活化。综上所述，这些发现表明TNA/碳支架可作为设计多功能装置的指导，以促进内皮化并提高血液相容性。