The aim of this study was to investigate the synergistic effect of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) treatment and RGD peptide coating for enhancing cellular attachment and proliferation over titanium (Ti) surfaces. The surface structure of CAP-treated and RGD peptide-coated Ti discs were characterized by contact angle goniometer and atomic force microscopy. The effect of such surface modification on human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) adhesion and proliferation was assessed by cell proliferation and DNA content assays. Besides, hMSCs’ adhesion and morphology on surface modified Ti discs were observed via fluorescent and scanning electron microscopy. RGD peptide coating following CAP treatment significantly enhanced cellular adhesion and proliferation among untreated, CAP-treated and RGD peptide-coated Ti discs. The treatment of Ti surfaces with CAP may contribute to improved RGD peptide coating, which enables increased cellular integrations with the Ti surfaces.@en

Besides the material type, surface characteristics of titanium based dental implants also affect the treatment success and time. Atmospheric Cold Plasma (ACP) treatment and RGD peptide conjugation methods are applied to titanium implants for shortening the osseointegration time by increasing the surface hydrophilicty and cell adhesion rate. However the comparative effect of these two implant surface modification techniques has yet to be investgated. In the scope of this study, efficacy of the ACP treatment and RGD peptide conjugation methods has been evaluated by determining adhesion and proliferation of rat bone marrow mesencymal stem cells (MSC) on the surface of modified implants. It was shown that comparing the usage of two individual surface modifications, RGD peptid conjugation after ASP treatment of the implant surface had significantly higher MSC adhesion and proliferation.@en