Cell behavior on laser surface-modified polyethylene terephthalate in vitro

This work has been undertaken to study the cell behavior of L929 fibroblast s on the laser irradiated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface. To modi fy the surface properties of the PET, CO2 pulsed laser at the wavelength of 9.25 mum and KrF excimer laser at 248 nm with various number of pulses wer e used. Laser irradiation caused some changes in the chemical and physical properties of the laser-treated film surfaces, which were evaluated using d ifferent techniques. These changes may affect the cell adhesion and growth on the laser-treated PET. Therefore, cell attachment and spreading were inv estigated on the laser-treated PET in vitro. The data from in vitro assays showed the fibroblast cells were attached and proliferated extensively on t he CO2 and KrF laser-treated films in comparison with the unmodified PET. T he results obtained from the cell behavior studies revealed that surface mo rphology and wettability affected cell adhesion and spreading on the laser- treated PET. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.