Surface Modification of 316 L Stainless Steel by Sol-Gel Ceramic Coating and its Cytocompatibility
In this research, sol-gel method was utilized to prepare ceramic coating on medical grade 316 L stainless steel with different annealing temperature, solution constitute and coating layers. As-prepared zirconia film morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscope. The human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured on specimens to evaluate their biocompatibility, with fluorescence staining to observe the morphology of cells. The results showed that annealed zirconia film was improved mechanical properties. According to the bio-evaluation results, HUVECs shows very small difference on proliferation activity on ZrO2coatings compared to 316 L stainless steel, which was shows high difference on proinflammation response test. This indicated that ceramic coating can be indeed less aggressive, which was use for potential future application in surface treatment of stainless steel in scalpels and indwelling needle.