EFFECT OF DC DISCHARGE PLASMA ON CHITOSAN-BASED FILMS: SURFACE PROPERTIES AND IN VITRO EVALUATION

Abstract

This work was aimed at studying the effect of DC discharge plasma modification of films casted from various chitosan samples and chitosan/poly(L,L-lactide)/gelatin graft-copolymers on their surface properties, chemical structure and cell response. Contact angle measurements, XPS and SEM showed that in spite of the similarity of the observed processes, such as surface hydrophilization and etching, the contribution of each process significantly depended on the initial polymer films characteristics.