title: Biocompatible nanocrystalline octacalcium phosphate thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition.
abstract: We extended for the first time pulsed laser ablation to the deposition of octacalcium phosphate Ca8H2(PO4)6.5H2O (OCP) thin films. The depositions were performed with a pulsed UV laser source (lambda=248 nm, tau> or =20 ns) in a flux of hot water vapors. The targets were sintered from crystalline OCP powder and the laser ablation fluence was set at values of 1.5-2 J/cm2. During depositions the collectors, Si or Ti substrates, were maintained at a constant temperature within the range 20-200 degrees C. The resulting structures were submitted to heat treatment in hot water vapors for up to 6 h. The best results were obtained at a substrate temperature of 150 degrees C during both deposition and post-deposition treatment. High-resolution electron microscopy and XRD at grazing incidence indicated that the coatings obtained were made of nanocrystalline OCP. Cross-section TEM investigations showed that the coatings contained droplets stacked on Ti substrates as well as distributed across the entire thickness of the arborescence-like structure layers. The results of WST-1 assay, cell adherence, DNA replication, and caspase-1 activity confirmed the good biocompatibility of the coatings.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 77125 Bucharest-Magurele, Romania.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Socol
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torricelli
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bracci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iliescu
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miroiu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bigi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Werckmann
authors.forename: I N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Mihailescu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002455:Cell Division; D002460:Cell Line; D004261:DNA Replication; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D051379:Mice; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002130:Calcium Phosphates; C022045:octacalcium phosphate