Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell Interaction with Fluorine-Incorporated Amorphous Carbon Films

Abstract

A major clinical concern in coronary intervention for cardiovascular disease is late stent thrombosis after the implantation of drug eluting stents (DES). DES widely used in clinical settings currently utilize polymer coatings, which can induce persistent arterial wall inflammation and delayed vascular healing, resulting in impaired endothelialization. We examined the viability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) for fluorine-incorporated amorphous carbon (a-C:H:F) coatings, which are known to be anti-thrombogenic. a-C:H:F and a-C:H were synthesized on the tissue culture dishes using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition by varying the ratio of hexafluoroethane and acetylene. HUVECs were seeded on coated dishes for 6 days. The results indicate that the a-C:H:F surface does not disturb HUVEC proliferation in 6 days of culture and is promising for stent materials that allows the preservation of endothelialization, even if the fluorine concentration of a-C:H surface affects the early adhesion of endothelial cells.

Surface modification of polymers by plasma treatments for the enhancement of biocompatibility and controlled drug release

“…Yoshimoto et al examined the viability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) for fluorine-incorporated DLC (F-DLC) coatings [77]. F-DLC was synthesized on tissue-culture dishes using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition by varying the ratio of hexafluoroethane and acetylene.…”

Hemocompatibile Thin Films Assessed under Blood Flow Shear Forces

“…However, low adhesion force makes it impossible to grow highly organized fibrin clots. a-C:H:F coatings were reported to possess great potential as coatings that can prevent thrombus formation on medical devices that come into contact with blood [ 81 ]. Horikawa et al demonstrated that fluorine-incorporated amorphous carbon coatings control the initial thrombotic and inflammatory reactions of biomaterials by suppressing platelet adhesion and activation as well as neutrophil adhesion.…”

Polymer Surface Modifications by Coating

“…They reported an enhanced water contact angle of DLC by increasing the doping concentration of fluorine, reaching as high as 94 , considerably changed from the original contact angle of 70 (Yoshimoto et al, 2012). Here again, the element doping could effectively change the wettability.…”