Ammonia plasma treatment of polystyrene surfaces enhances proliferation of primary human mesenchymal stem cells and human endothelial cells

Abstract

The control of surface properties is a substantial step in the development and improvement of biomaterials for clinical applications as well as for their use in tissue engineering. Interaction of the substrate surface with the biochemical or biological environment is crucial for the outcome of the applied biomaterial and therefore should meet specific requirements regarding the chemical composition, wettability, elasticity, and charge. In this study, we examined the effect of chemical groups introduced by low pressure plasma treatments of polystyrene surfaces on the cell behavior of primary human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and dermal microvascular endothelial cells (hDMECs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and contact angle measurements were employed to evaluate ammonia-, carbon dioxide-, and acrylic acid-plasma modifications to substrate surfaces. HMSCs and hDMECs were analyzed simultaneously to identify the most suitable surface functionalization for each cell type. Significantly higher cell proliferation was detected on ammonia plasma-treated surfaces. Cell-material interaction could be shown on all created interfaces as well as the expression of typical cell markers. Hence, the applied plasma treatment presents a suitable tool to improve culture condition on polystyrene for two important cell types (hMSCs and hDMECs) in the field of tissue engineering.

Plasma-Assisted Hydrophilization of Cochlear Implant Electrode Array Surfaces Enables Adhesion of Neurotrophin-Secreting Cells

“…After plasma treatment, the contact angle was substantially reduced, resulting in excellent wettability. This finding is consistent with the results of plasma treatment of both silicone [7,18] and polystyrene surfaces [19] reported in the literature. Further evidence for the enhanced biocompatibility of the CI silicone surfaces after plasma treatment is the morphological aspect of the cultured cells.…”

Nano-hydroxyapatite-coated metal-ceramic composite of iron-tricalcium phosphate: Improving the surface wettability, adhesion and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro

“…Bone marrow aspirates from healthy donors (two 24 and 25 years old males and one 45 years old female) were purchased from Lonza (Walkersville, USA), and the hMSCs were isolated by density centrifugation and plastic adherence according to [12]. Cell culture was conducted in a mesenchymal stem cell medium (MSCGM™ Bullet Kit™, Lonza, Verviers, Belgium), supplemented with 2% (v/v) FCS, 50 units/ml of penicillin and 50 µg/ml of streptomycin from Life Technologies (Darmstadt, Germany).…”

Plasma deposition of collagen for cell‐culture applications

“…Therefore, the cell‐culture market relies on a variety of plasma treatments to render PS hydrophilic and the resultant surface is routinely referred to as a tissue culture‐treated (TCT) surface. TCT treatment improves biocompatibility through simple oxidation, but more complex surfaces are often required to grow particular cell lines, and this can be facilitated through the deposition of amine or carboxylic acid functionalities . This has been recently reviewed by Lerman et al…”