| AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Surface Modification of Materials by Plasmas for Medical Purposes Focus Topic | Thursday Sessions |
| Session SM+AS+BI+PS-ThA |
| Session: | Plasma Processing of Biomemetic Materials |
| Presenter: | Jason Whittle, University of South Australia |
| Authors: | J.D. Whittle, University of South Australia L.E. Smith, University of South Australia T.L. Fernandez, University of South Australia |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Wound healing is a multi-billion dollar drain on healthcare systems around the work. This is particularly true in developed countries as they deal with aging populations and conditions such as vascular disease and diabetes. More than 30% of the costs associated with treating diabetes can be attributed to management of chronic wounds. Dressings for the clinical management of wounds are constantly evolving to provide antimicrobial environments and optimal gas exchange, pH and hydration to facilitate wound healing. Ideally, the next generation of wound dressings will also provide a favourable surface for cell attachment, proliferation and migration to further promote the healing process. A number of approaches have been developed for healing chronic wounds, many of which involve culturing of explanted cells, or donor cells, and returning them to the wound site. In this paper, we have used plasma polymerisation to develop surfaces which influence the migration rate of primary cells (keratinocytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells). A pro-migratory surface will enable cell transport into the wound bed. Earlier workers have concentrated on cell attachment as a key measurement of clinical potential, but we have observed that cell mobility exhibits a preference for different surface chemistry to attachment, and this preference depends on cell type. We show how plasma polymerization can be used to produce surfaces with controllable chemistry, and explore the effect of changing surface chemistry on the migration rate of primary fibroblasts and keratinocytes in vitro. We also investigate the effect of these surfaces on wound closure rate using an in-vitro wounding model based on an engineered skin composite. We also explore the application of plasma polymerized pro-migratory surfaces to electrospun scaffolds for use with deeper wounds.