Wettability of chitosan-modified and lipid/polypeptide-coated peek surfaces

Abstract

In the present paper, cold plasma-activated and chitosan-coated polyetheretherketone (PEEK) was covered with thin films of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, cholesterol, cyclosporine A, and their mixtures using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The thermodynamic function, i.e., surface free energy, of those systems was determined based on the contact angle hysteresis (CAH) approach. This parameter seems to be essential in determination of cell adhesion to polymeric materials and molecular interactions with living tissues. The obtained results show that the wettability and surface free energy of PEEK can be changed depending on the composition of the coating.