Cyclopropylamine plasma polymers for increased cell adhesion and growth.

Plasma polymers with NH_x groups were deposited from cyclopropylamine in low pressure radio frequency (RF) discharges. The amount of NH_x decreased with increasing average power P_av, whereas the layer dissolution in water decreased and high P_av led to a slight film swelling. The C2C12 cells demonstrated very high adhesion to the layers regardless of the deposition conditions. Although the surface chemistry of amine-rich layers should enhance the cell proliferation, the WST-1 assay, and immunocytochemistry revealed lower cell proliferation and viability on the layers exhibiting above 18% of relative thickness loss in water. Promising results were obtained on the layers with better water stability and bearing 7-10% of NH_x. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]