Synthesis and Characteristics of Lanthanum Oxide Films by Dual Plasma Deposition and In Vitro Evaluation of Endothelial Cells Cultured on the Films

Endothelialization of cardiovascular device surfaces has been regarded as an important means to prevent thrombogenicity. However, up to now, there have been few reports about the compatibility between rare-earth materials and blood. In this work, a rare earth oxide film, lanthanum oxide, was fabricated using dual plasma deposition and the influence of the film properties on the endothelial cell behavior was investigated. The structure, physicochemical characteristics, as well as surface biomedical compatibility were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface wettability and tension were
characterized by contact angle measurement. Human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells were cultured on the surfaces of the as-deposited films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy were used to evaluate the surface morphology of the endothelial cells on the surface of films. The results show that HUVE cells can adhere and proliferate on the surface of the lanthanum oxide films in vitro. This study suggests rare earth oxide films are potential blood contacting biomedical materials.