Department of Mechanical and Computer-Aided Engineering, National Formosa University, Yunlin, Taiwan.
PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e56771. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056771. Epub 2013 Feb 19.
The purpose of this study was to verify the antibacterial performance and cell proliferation activity of zirconium (Zr)-carbon (C)-nitride (N) coatings on commercially pure titanium (Ti) with different C contents.
Reactive nitrogen gas (N(2)) with and without acetylene (C(2)H(2)) was activated by Zr plasma in a cathodic-arc evaporation system to deposit either a zirconium nitride (ZrN) or a Zr-C-N coating onto Ti plates. The bacterial activity of the coatings was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus with the aid of SYTO9 nucleic acid staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cell compatibility, mRNA expression, and morphology related to human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) on the coated samples were also determined by using the MTT assay, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and SEM.
The Zr-C-N coating with the highest C content (21.7 at%) exhibited the lowest bacterial preservation (P<0.001). Biological responses including proliferation, gene expression, and attachment of HGF cells to ZrN and Zr-C-N coatings were comparable to those of the uncoated Ti plate.
High-C-content Zr-C-N coatings not only provide short-term antibacterial activity against S. aureus but are also biocompatible with HGF cells.
本研究旨在验证不同碳含量的商用纯钛（Ti）上的锆（Zr）-碳（C）-氮（N）涂层的抗菌性能和细胞增殖活性。
在阴极电弧蒸发系统中，通过Zr 等离子体激活含乙炔（C₂H₂）和不含乙炔的氮气（N₂），在 Ti 板上沉积氮化锆（ZrN）或 Zr-C-N 涂层。利用 SYTO9 核酸染色和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）评估涂层对金黄色葡萄球菌的细菌活性。通过 MTT 测定、逆转录-聚合酶链反应和 SEM 还确定了涂层样品上与人牙龈成纤维细胞（HGFs）相关的细胞相容性、mRNA 表达和形态。
C 含量最高（21.7at%）的 Zr-C-N 涂层表现出最低的细菌保留率（P<0.001）。包括增殖、基因表达和 HGF 细胞附着在内的生物反应与未涂层 Ti 板相当。
高 C 含量的 Zr-C-N 涂层不仅对金黄色葡萄球菌具有短期的抗菌活性，而且与 HGF 细胞具有生物相容性。
