Growth of human endothelial cells on plasma-treated polyethyleneterephthalate surfaces

Different methods have been proposed to reduce the surface thrombogenicity of small caliber vascular grafs, using plasma treatments of polymer surfaces in order to improve the adhesion and the proliferation of human endothelial cells (HEC). Plasma modified polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) substrates were employed to grow HEC, isolated from the umbilical vein. A combination of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Sessile Contact Angle (SCA) measurements allowed to study the surface modifications produced soon after nitrogen and hydrogen plasma treatments with respect to an untreated PET substrate, used as reference. It was possible to select a number of PET substrates where actually performing the HEC seeding experiments. The HEC proliferation was evaluated by optical microscope image analyses.