Carboxyl-anhydride and amine plasma coating of PCL nanofibers to improve their bioactivity

The plasmamodification of biodegradable nanofibers is of great interest for improvement of their biocompatibility. However, there are no systematic studies regarding the influence of plasma polymer deposition onto the surface of nanofibers to improve cell adhesion. In the present study, homogenous and reproducible modification of polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers by amine and carboxyl/anhydride groupswas achieved. The concentration of amines NH2/C and C(O)O contribution were up to 2.9 and 14.1%, respectively. Regardless the plasma conditions, the deposition of amine and carboxyl-anhydride plasma coatings onto the PCL nanofibers sufficiently improved the cell adhesion and viability, as was evidenced by microscopy observations and ATP assay results. It should be emphasized that the deposition of negatively charged carboxyl-anhydride coatings resulted in slightly better cell adhesion compared to the positively charged amine plasma coatings, unlike the widespread opinion that COOH modification has less effect on myoblasts adhesion. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.