Osteoblast differentiation and disinfection induced by nitrogen plasma-treated surfaces

Plasma technology is widely employed to tailor the surface chemistry of polymeric biomaterials. In this work, nitrogen-containing functional groups were generated on a polymer surface by N₂ plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). We evaluated the abilities of the resulting surface to inhibit bacterial growth and to enhance osteoblast differentiation from the perspective of bone tissue engineering. Our results demonstrate that the N₂ PIII-treated polymer surface exhibits antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli. Moreover, the N₂ PIII-treated polymer surface has the ability to enhance differentiation of osteoblasts. N₂ PIII-treated polymer surface may therefore be useful in bone tissue engineering.