Relationship between activity of silica thin films and density of cells occupation.

The SiO₂ thin films (STFs) were deposited on the surfaces of stainless steel tapes and their activity was particularly investigated from the aspect of the number density of hydroxyl groups on their surfaces. The calculation procedure of density of active OH groups includes determination of average length of silica chains that constitute silica sol particles with almost uniform size, on the base of thermogravimetric analysis. The size of SiO₂ particles is analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering method. Fibroblast (L929) cell densities on the surfaces of these films were investigated using phase contrast microcopy. It was shown that there is a relationship between OH group densities and density of attached cells. Besides, the cytotoxicity effect was studied and compared for various thermally treated STFs. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 1707-1714, 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]