Use of atmospheric plasma jet treatments for the enhancement of cell adhesion to 1 mm internal diameter microwell cell arrays

In this study a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) is micro-injection moulded to manufacture miniature multiwell plates with biodiagnostic applications. The biological inertness of the COC polymer however hampers the cell growth. In order to address this problem, the feasibility of using both helium and air atmospheric plasma treatments for the activation of the well arrays was investigated. In addition to evaluating if the enhancement in the polymer surface energy would facilitate cell attachment onto the internal surface of the wells, a further issue was to avoid thermal damage by the plasma to the 1 mm internal diameter microwell cell arrays.