Controlling Wettability of Boron Nitride Nanotube Films and Improved Cell Proliferation

Desired wettability has been achieved on highly hydrophobic boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) films using nitrogen/hydrogen (N-2/H-2) gas plasma treatments under controlled input energies and modes. Both hydrophilicity (contact angle (CA) similar to 60 degrees) and superhydrophilicity (CA < 5 degrees) are demonstrated on BNNT films with little change of the surface morphology or the structure of individual BNNTs. The combination of continuous wave and pulse mode (CW+P) plasma shows more effective wettability modification and introduces more amine functional groups than the continuous wave (CW) plasma alone at a given input energy. (Super)-hydrophilic/hydrophobic patterns have been created on BNNT films using masked plasma methods. The cell response to BNNT films is investigated for the first time. The proliferation of human primary mammary fibroblasts and a transformed mammary cell line (TXP RFP3) shows that the untreated hydrophobic BNNT films can support the growth of both cell lines, but the plasma treatments greatly enhance (up to six times) the number of cells attached to the surface of BNNT films.