Cell viability and adhesion on diamond-like carbon films containing titanium dioxide nanoparticles

The combination of low friction, wear resistance, high hardness, biocompatibility and chemical inertness makes diamond-like carbon (DLC) films suitable in a numerous applications in biomedical engineering. The cell viability and adhesion of L929 mouse fibroblasts was investigated using two different colorimetric assays: (i) 2-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-3,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), and (ii) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The films were growth on 316L stainless steel substrates using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique from a dispersion of TiO2 nanopowder in hexane. The increasing concentration of TiO2 nanoparticles in DLC films enhanced the mitochondrial activity and decreases the LDH activity on these samples. Fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy corroborate the results. These experiments show the potential use of DLC and TiO2-DLC films in biomedical applications.