Time-stable wetting effect of plasma-treated biodegradable scaffolds functionalized with graphene oxide

The polymer scaffolds surfaces are inherently hydrophobic what limits its performance as implants and compatibility with human tissue essential for such applications as tissue engineering, nerve regeneration, drug delivery, etc. The plasma treatment was demonstrated to change the wetting properties of scaffolds making them hydrophilic. However, that is not a lasting effect. In this work, we aim at addressing this problem with systematic time-stability investigation of scaffolds functionalized with graphene oxide (GO) layers. To this end, we used several polymers including polycaprolactone (PCL), poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA), L-lactide-co-glycolide copolymer (PLGA) and L-lactide-co-caprolactone copolymer (PLC) functionalized with GO, evaluating also control samples without any treatment and treated by plasma. Our results demonstrate that the GO coating provides a successful and stable hydrophilic functionality to all polymer scaffolds here investigated. Contrary to plasma treatment used as a reference for the surface-wettability provider, only the GO effects remain stable for extended periods of up to 30 days. This work contributes to the robust application of graphene-functionalized polymer scaffolds with long lifetime hydrophilicity.