MODULATION OF OSTEOBLAST CELL RESPONSE THROUGH LASER SURFACE PROCESSING OF NYLON 6,6

摘要

With an ageing population demand on medicalrnfacilities is growing, especially for bio-implants.rnTherefore, there is a need for cheaper, more efficientrnimplants. This paper details how CO_2 and KrF excimerrnlasers can be employed to modulate osteoblast cellrngrowth on nylon 6,6 in relation to laser-modifiedrnwettability characteristics. Through patterning therncontact angle, θ, increased by up to 19°, indicating thernpresence of a mixed state wetting regime; whereas θrndecreased by up to 20° for the whole area irradiativernprocessed samples. After 24 hours and 4 daysrnincubation the cell cover density and cell count wasrnsomewhat modulated over the laser-modified samplesrncompared to the as-received sample. A likely increasernin surface toxicity gave rise to a hindered cell responsernfor those samples with high energy densities and highrnincident pulse numbers. No strong correlations wererndetermined for the laser-induced patterned samplesrnwhich can be attributed to the likely mixed-staternwetting regime. Correlative trends were found betweenrnthe cell response, θ, polar component and surfacernoxygen content for the whole area irradiative processedrnsamples. Thus, allowing one to identify the potentialrnfor this technology in regenerative medicine.