Enhanced Biological Behavior of In Vitro Human Gingival Fibroblasts on Cold Plasma-Treated Zirconia

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether atmospheric-pressure dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma treatment of zirconia enhances its biocompatibility with human gingival fibroblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The zirconia disks were divided into four groups and treated using helium atmospheric-pressure dielectric-barrier-discharge plasmas for 30, 60 or 90 s or left untreated. The surface morphology, wettability and chemical elements were analyzed. Fibroblasts density, morphology, morphometry and attachment-related genes expression were measured at different time points from 3 to 72 h. RESULTS: After plasma treatment, the surface morphology and roughness remained the same, while the contact angle decreased from 78.31° to 43.71°, and the surface C/O ratio decreased from 3.17 to 0.89. The surficial areas and perimeters of HGFs were increased two-fold in the treated groups at 3 h. Fibroblasts density increased on treated disks at all time points, especially the ones treated for 60 s. Attachment-related genes in the groups treated for 30 and 60 s were significantly higher at 3 and 24 h. CONCLUSION: The helium atmospheric-pressure dielectric-barrier-discharge plasma treatment enhances the biological behavior of fibroblasts on zirconia by increasing the expression of attachment-related genes within 24 h and promoting the cell density during longer culture times. Wettability of zirconia, an important physicochemical property, has a vital influence on the cell behaviors.