The biocompatibility of diamond-like carbon nano films

The sp³ (diamond like bonding) fraction and surface properties are the important determining factors among all structural and compositional characteristics which control the biocompatibility of diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating. Previous reports in this area have not adequately correlated these factors with coating optimization for specific biomedical applications. The present work is aimed at studying the effect of the structural and compositional properties on the biocompatibility of both hydrogenated and unhydrogenated tetrahedral DLC films produced by commercial deposition methods. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used for structural and compositional characterization. The human bone derived cells (HBDC) 3 day cell-culture showed good attachment to the DLC surfaces but no significant difference in morphology on different types of DLC. Blood protein adsorption study showed an increased albumin to fibrinogen ratio as the sp³ fraction increases.