Ultrananocrystalline diamond film as an optimal cell interface for biomedical applications

Abstract

Surfaces of materials that promote cell adhesion, proliferation, and growth are critical for new generation of implantable biomedical devices. These films should be able to coat complex geometrical shapes very conformally, with smooth surfaces to produce hermetic bioinert protective coatings, or to provide surfaces for cell grafting through appropriate functionalization. Upon performing a survey of desirable properties such as chemical inertness, low friction coefficient, high wear resistance, and a high Young's modulus, diamond films emerge as very attractive candidates for coatings for biomedical devices. A promising novel material is ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD ® ) in thin film form, since UNCD possesses the desirable properties of diamond and can be deposited as a very smooth, conformal coating using chemical vapor deposition. In this paper, we compared cell adhesion, proliferation, and growth on UNCD films, silicon, and platinum films substrates using different cell lines. Our results showed that UNCD films exhibited superior characteristics including cell number, total cell area, and cell spreading. The results could be attributed to the nanostructured nature or a combination of nanostructure/surface chemistry of UNCD, which provides a high surface energy, hence promoting adhesion between the receptors on the cell surface and the UNCD films.

Fabrication and characterization of boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond-coated MEMS probes

“…The B-NCD thin films have been subject to a great deal of attention due to their outstanding properties, remarkable hardness, optical transparency in a broad wavelength [31,32], high thermal conductivity [33] as well as biocompatibility [34,35]. Unlike the rough polycrystalline films with grain sizes above 500 nm, NCD films with typical grain sizes and surface roughness of less than 100 nm are relatively smooth showing properties close to single crystal diamond [36].…”

Nanocrystalline Diamond Films Grown by Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition and Its Biocompatible Property

“…Bajaj et al demonstrated that the rat pheochromocytoma cells were cultivated on different substrates, such as UNCD film, silicon and platinum and investigated the cell adhesion, proliferation and growth of the cell on those substrates [38]. As a result, the cell on the UNCD was suppressed by the hydrogen terminated NCD surface.…”

Diamond, Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) and Diamond-Like Nanocomposite (DLN) Thin Films for MEMS Applications

“…Which indicates that the UNCD surface have much more biocompatibility compared to other surfaces. Finally the maximum cells attachment, cell spreading and nuclear area coverage of the cell in UNCD surface is much more compered to other surfaces [81]. In medical application DLC can coat over the stent.…”