To Increase the Non-stickiness of Amorphous Carbon Coatings for Surgical Devices by Laser Surface Patterning

When mechanically handling or cutting human tissues in surgeries by surgical knife and scissors, sticking phenomena often make it difficult to process. It is more serious in the operations when heat is involved, such as in the case of radio frequency surgery. To increase the non-stickiness, the tool surface must be hydrophobic and of low surface energy in nature, which decreases the adhesion force between the tools and the objects. In this project, we use a novel laser patterning approach to increase. the hydrophobicity of DLC coatings to avoid sticking phenomena on surgical devices. Conventionally, the hydrophobic property of OLC coatings can be improved by alloying with other elements such as silicon and fluorine etc. Our proposed approach exhibits advantages in simplicity and effectiveness, while keeping the original properties of the coatings unchanged. In this . investigation, the relationship between the parameters of laser patterning on substrate materials and the hydrophobicity of the surface is revealed. The parameters will be optimized to prepare surfaces with highest hydrophobicity of OLC coatings. In addition, the effect of the patterning of the coatings on tribological and blood compatibility properties will be evaluated in order to provide OLC coatings with improvement of wear resistance and blood compatibility.