Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 15, 2026
Thin Film Composite Silicon Elastomers for Cell Culture and Skin Applications: Manufacturing and Characterization
Published on: July 3, 2018
Enhanced cytocompatibility and reduced genotoxicity of polydimethylsiloxane modified by plasma immersion ion
Liping Tong1, Wenhua Zhou1, Yuetao Zhao1
1Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, PR China.
Abstract:
Polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) is a common industrial polymer with advantages such as ease of fabrication, tunable hardness, and other desirable properties, but the basic (-OSi(CH3)2-)n structure in PDMS is inherently hydrophobic thereby hampering application to biomedical engineering. In this study, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is conducted on PDMS to improve the biological properties. PIII forms wrinkled "herringbone" patterns and abundant O-containing functional groups on PDMS to alter the surface hydrophilicity. The biocompatibility of the modified PDMS is assessed with Chinese hamster ovarian cells and compared to that of the untreated PDMS. Our results reveal that the PDMS samples after undergoing PIII have better cytocompatibility and lower genotoxicity. PIII which is a non-line-of-sight technique extends the application of PDMS to the biomedical field.
