Plasma Modified Textiles for Biomedical Applications

In the textile market industry, technical textiles are one of the fastest growing businesses. Part of that industry consists of textiles for medical and healthcare applications and are responsible for a continuous increase in its market potential [1]. Next to their need in hospital environments, there is a growing demand in other sectors such as the food and hotel industry, due to stricter hygiene regulations. In most cases biomedical textile meets a well-defined set of requirements such as minimizing non-specific protein adsorption, drug delivery coatings or the presence of active functional coatings and most importantly excellent biocompatibility (blood-, tissue-or cyto-compatibility) [2]. In general there are very few materials meeting all these characteristics, while at the same time offering the needed structural and mechanical properties. Furthermore, depending on the application, the production process has to be cost-effective and approved by local legislation

Non-thermal plasma assisted lithography for biomedical applications: an overview

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Acrylic acid plasma coated 3D Scaffolds for Cartilage tissue engineering applications

Abstract The current generation of tissue engineered additive manufactured scaffolds for cartilage repair shows high potential for growing adult cartilage tissue. This study proposes two surface modification strategies based on non-thermal plasma technology for the modification of poly(ethylene oxide terephthalate/poly(butylene terephthalate) additive manufactured scaffolds to enhance their cell-material interactions. The first, plasma activation in a helium discharge, introduced non-specific polar functionalities. In the second approach, a carboxylic acid plasma polymer coating, using acrylic acid as precursor, was deposited throughout the scaffolds. Both surface modifications were characterized by significant changes in wettability, linked to the incorporation of new oxygen-containing functional groups. Their capacity for chondrogenesis was studied using ATDC5 chondroblasts as a model cell-line. The results demonstrate that the carboxylic acid-rich plasma coating had a positive effect on the generation of the glucoaminoglycans (GAG) matrix and stimulated the migration of cells throughout the scaffold. He plasma activation stimulated the formation of GAGs but did not stimulate the migration of chondroblasts throughout the scaffolds. Both plasma treatments spurred chondrogenesis by favoring GAG deposition. This leads to the overall conclusion that acrylic acid based plasma coatings exhibit potential as a surface modification technique for cartilage tissue engineering applications

Antimicrobial nano-silver non-woven polyethylene terephthalate fabric via an atmospheric pressure plasma deposition process

An antimicrobial nano-silver non-woven polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric has been prepared in a three step process. The fabrics were first pretreated by depositing a layer of organosilicon thin film using an atmospheric pressure plasma system, then silver nano-particles (AgNPs) were incorporated into the fabrics by a dipping-dry process, and finally the nano-particles were covered by a second organosilicon layer of 10-50 nm, which acts as a barrier layer. Different surface characterization techniques like SEM and XPS have been implemented to study the morphology and the chemical composition of the nano-silver fabrics. Based on these techniques, a uniform immobilization of AgNPs in the PET matrix has been observed. The antimicrobial activity of the treated fabrics has also been tested using P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and C. albicans. It reveals that the thickness of the barrier layer has a strong effect on the bacterial reduction of the fabrics. The durability and stability of the AgNPs on the fabrics has also been investigated in a washing process. By doing so, it is confirmed that the barrier layer can effectively prevent the release of AgNPs and that the thickness of the barrier layer is an important parameter to control the silver ions release

Non-thermal Plasma Technology for the Improvement of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine - A Review

Non-thermal plasma technology is one of those techniques that suffer relatively little from diffusion limits, slow kinetics, and complex geometries compared to more traditional liquid-based chemical surface modification techniques. Combined with a lack of solvents, preservation of the bulk properties, and fast treatment times; it is a well-liked technique for the treatment of materials for biomedical applications. In this book chapter, a review will be given on what the scientific community determined to be essential to obtain appropriate scaffolds for tissue engineering and how plasma scientists have used non-thermal plasma technology to accomplish this. A distinction will be made depending on the scaffold fabrication technique, as each technique has its own set of specific problems that need to be tackled. Fabrication techniques will include traditional fabrication methods, rapid prototyping, and electrospinning. As for the different plasma techniques, both plasma activation and grafting/polymerization will be included in the review and linked to the in-vitro/in-vivo response to these treatments. The literature review itself is preceded by a more general overview on cell communication, giving useful insights on how surface modification strategies should be developed

Investigating the stability of plasma polymerized acrylic acid coatings

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Effect of liquid impregnation on DBD atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of cotton

This paper describes the He non-thermal plasma treatment of liquid impregnated cotton fabrics. The cotton fabrics were soaked in either H2O, D2O or ethanol after which they were placed in an atmospheric pressure parallel-plate DBD reactor. The influence of the used liquid in combination with the plasma exposure time was studied using OES, FTIR, XPS and SEM. The addition of (deuterated) water was found to aid more efficiently in the incorporation of polar functional groups onto the cotton surface in comparison to a pure He plasma treatment. The presence of H and OH species in the discharge also caused extensive etching of the surface, which led to the formation of microcraters. The impregnation with ethanol was responsible for the formation of a plasma-based thin film on top of the cotton substrate, which was characterized by a high content of C-C bonds and a smooth surface morphology. These results show that the soaking of cotton fabric prior to plasma exposure can help to more effectively alter its surface properties compared to a dry plasma treatment

Ring tests as main parts of the quality assurance and control programme for the comparability of analytical data within the ICP Forests monitoring programme

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