Nitrogen-containing plasma polymerization is of considerable interest for tissue engineering due
to their properties on cell adhesion and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) response. In this study,
low-pressure RF plasma of acetylene and nitrogen was used to deposit nitrogen-containing plasma
polymerized coatings on several substrates. Deposition kinetics and surface characteristics of coatings
were investigated in terms of RF power and gas flow ratio. OES was used to monitor the plasma process
and investigate the relation between the film structure and plasma species. Presence of several bonds
and low concentration of amine functional groups were determined using FTIR and Colorimetric
methods. Contact angle goniometry results indicated about 30% increase in surface hydrophilicity.
Stability of coatings in air and two different liquid environments was examined by repeating surface
free energy measurements. Deposited films exhibited acceptable stability during the storage duration.
Surface roughness measured by AFM was found to decrease with growing concentration of nitrogen.
The deposition rate increased with increasing RF power and decreased with growing concentration of
nitrogen. Zeta potential measurements of coatings revealed the negative potential on the surface of
the thin films. Temporary suppression of collagen X in the presence of plasma coatings was confirmed
by RT-PCR results
