Enhanced Biocompatibility of GPC by MeV Ion Bombardment

Glassy Polymeric Carbon (GPC) is completely biocompatible and is widely used as a material for artificial heart valves and in other biomedical applications. Although it is ideally suited for fluid flow in the blood stream, collagenous tissue that normally forms around the moving parts of a GPC heart valve sometimes loses adhesion and creates embolisms downstream. We have shown that moderate fluence of MeV ions, especially oxygen ions, increases the surface roughness of GPC on a scale appropriate for enhancing tissue adhesion. Silver ion implantation is shown to inhibit cell growth on GPC. Ion bombardment also increases the surface hardness of GPC, already an extremely hard material. In vitro biocompatibility tests have been carried out with model cell lines to demonstrate that MeV ion bombardment can favorably influence the surface of GPC for biomedical applications.