Oral keratinocyte stem cells behavior on diamond like carbon films

Diamond like carbon (DLC) is an amorphous carbon material suitable for use in a variety of in vivo biomedical applications, which may constitute a step forward in biotechnology of dental or orthopedic implants. Previous in vitro studies focusing on DLC films demonstrate that cellular behavior on DLC is cell type specific. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interaction between DLC substrates and keratinocyte stem cells isolated from oral epithelia. Oral keratinocyte stem cells were isolated using a magnetic technique. Various DLC films were synthesized using Thermoionic Vacuum Arc plasma (TVA) by adjusting the distance between substrate and anode. We assessed important cell characteristics such as proliferation rate, colony forming efficiency of oral keratinocyte stem cells placed on various DLC films. Our results demonstrate that DLC substrates are biocompatible with the analyzed cell type, and do not affect cell size or colony forming efficiency, in specific conditions being able to stimulate their proliferative potential. The data demonstrates for the first time that oral keratinocyte stem cells are biocompatible with DLC films. Moreover the proliferative potential of cells may be enhanced by adjusting the deposition parameters of DLC films.