Surface Treatment of Polymers by Ion Beam Irradiation to Control the Human Osteoblast Adhesion: Fluence and Current Density Study

In the biomaterial field, the modification of surfaces are used to create polymers with high performances, preserving their bulk properties and creating specific interactions between the designed surfaces and the cells or tissues. The polymers were irradiated with a 900 keV Helium beam to modify their surface properties. Cell cultivation on the samples was done using human osteoblasts cells (hFOB 1.19). For PTFE, PS and PEEK polymers, the cell adhesion occurs after reached some threshold values of fluences. For PET or PMMA polymers, the cells adhere on the non irradiated samples, however the fluence value modifies the cell density. For PMMA and PTFE both, the fluence and the current density influence the cell adhesion. By modifying the appropriate parameters on each material, the control of the cell adhesion is possible. Indeed the surface treatment must be selected and adapted according to the further application: for biosensors, tissue engineering, tissue regeneration, neural probes, drug delivery, bio-actuators etc.