Elements-Added Diamond-Like Carbon Film for Biomedical Applications

• Published in: Advances in materials science and engineering 2019-01, Vol.2019 (2019), p.1-11
• Main Authors: Sunthornpan, Narin, Moolsradoo, Nutthanun, Watanabe, Shuichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Austenitic stainless steels; Biocompatibility; Biomedical materials; Carbon; Chemical composition; Coefficient of friction; Contact angle; Contact potentials; Corrosion potential; Corrosion resistance; Diamond-like carbon films; Energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy; Energy measurement; Friction; Gas flow; Hardness; Ion implantation; Mechanical properties; Methods; Modulus of elasticity; Nanoindentation; Nitrogen; Organic chemistry; Plasma; Raman spectroscopy; Science; Silicon; Spectrum analysis; Stainless steel; Substrates; Surface roughness; Thin films; Titanium alloys; Toxicity testing
• ISSN: 1687-8434; 1687-8442
• DOI: 10.1155/2019/6812092

Elements-added diamond-like carbon films for biomedical applications were investigated. The aim of this work was to study the effects of the elemental contents (silicon and silicon-nitrogen) in a DLC film on its properties for biomedical applications. Pure DLC, Si-DLC, and Si-N-DLC films were prepared from C2H2, C2H2 : TMS, and C2H2 : TMS : N2 gaseous mixtures, deposited on an AISI 316L substrate using the plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) technique. The structure of films was analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. The chemical composition of films was measured using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The average surface roughness of films was measured by using a surface roughness tester. The hardness and elastic modulus of films were measured by using a nanoindentation hardness tester. The friction coefficient of films was determined using a ball-on-disk tribometer. The surface contact angle was measured by a contact angle measurement. The corrosion performance of each specimen was measured using potentiodynamic polarization. The biocompatibility property of films was conducted using the MTT assay cytotoxicity test. The results indicate that the Si-N-DLC film shows the best hardness and friction coefficient (34.05 GPa and 0.13, respectively) with a nitrogen content of 0.5 at.%N, while the Si-DLC film with silicon content of 14.2 at.%Si reports the best contact angle and corrosion potential (92.47 and 0.398 V, respectively). The Si-N-DLC film shows the highest cell viability percentage of 81.96%, which is lower than the uncoated AISI 316L; this is a considerable improvement. All specimens do not demonstrate any cytotoxicity with approximate viabilities between 74% and 107%, indicating good biocompatibilities.