Laser surface texturing of SS316L for enhanced adhesion of HUVECs

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the effects of the structured surface on the adhesion, proliferation and alignment of endothelial cells (HUVECs). The chemical state of laser-structured surface was also investigated in comparison with the non-treated surface. A novel design for biomedical applications consisting of parallel chain-like structures was realised on stainless steel surface by laser micromachining. The structures were designed to employ surface topography in the presence of micron and sub-micron features and to avoid intensive surface modification that could compromise the mechanical properties of thin devices like cardiovascular stents. The results showed that the structured surfaces favored the adhesion, proliferation and alignment of HUVECs. The proliferation and the alignment of HUVECs were pronounced when the periodic distance between two consecutive chain-like structures was 25 µm. Moreover, there was no significant difference in chemical composition on the structured surface suggesting that the cell proliferation and alignment were mainly influenced by the surface topography.

KEYWORDS:

• Laser surface texturing
• endothelial cells
• cardiovascular stents
• stainless steel AISI 316L
• XPS

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Caroline Loy from LBB for the support concerning the cellular tests, Dr Pascale Chevalier and Dr Stephane Turgeon from LBB for the surface chemical analysis by XPS, Essowe Mouzou and Yingchao Su for the electropolishing preparation of SS316L.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the prestigious Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for the Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to Agung Purnama.