Hemocompatibility of DLC coatings synthesized by ion beam assisted deposition

Ion beam-assisted diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have been used for growing the human platelet, fibrinogen, and albumin in the control environment in order to assess their hemocompatibility. The hard carbon films were prepared on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) at room temperature using ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). Raman spectroscopic analysis proved that the carbon films on PMMA are diamond-like with a higher fraction of sp3 bonds in the structure of mixed sp2+sp3 bonding. The blood protein adsorption tests showed that DLC coatings can adsorb more albumin and are slightly more fibrinogen than the PMMA chosen as a control sample. The platelets adhered on DLC coatings were reduced significantly in number. These results indicate good hemocompatibility of DLC coatings.