Abstract
Hydrogenated Cu-incorporated diamond-like carbon (a-C:H/Cu) films were prepared in the present study using a radio-frequency plasma magnetron sputtering system at various CH4/Ar gas ratios. The a-C:H/Cu films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nano-indentation and a contact angle goniometer. The antibacterial properties and cell cytotoxicity of a-C:H/Cu films were evaluated as per JIS Z2801:2010 and ISO 10993-5 specifications, respectively. The analytical results revealed that the production of a-C:H/Cu films varied with the CH4/Ar ratio, and the phase transformation (amorphous-like → nano-polycrystalline structure) was induced by Cu doping/ion bombardment and radical reactions. Moreover, it was found that the microhardness of the a-C:H/Cu films decreased with increasing Ar fraction in the gas ratio. The a-C:H/Cu films exhibited a high hydrophobic surface feature. The film which contained 77.3 ± 4.4 at.% Cu did not influence cell adhesion and proliferation behaviors. Antibacterial tests also demonstrated that a-C:H/Cu films possessed excellent antibacterial properties. Therefore, a-C:H/Cu films could be developed as promising antibacterial coatings for biomedical applications.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Center of Excellence for Clinical Trial and Research in Neurology and Neurosurgery, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital for financially supporting this research under contract No. DOH101-TD-B-111-003, supported partly by the Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan under contract No. DOH101-TD-N-111-003. The authors would also like to thank the Taipei Medical University Hospital and Wan Fang Hospital for financially supporting this research under contract 99TMU-TMUH-03-1, supported partly by the conference of 7th Asia-Pacific International Symposium on the Basics and Applications of Plasma Technology
Notes
Co-first author: Duen-Jeng Wang.