Ion-sputtering deposition of Ca-P-O films for microscopic imaging of osteoblast cells

An ion-beam sputtering technique was used to produce Ca-P-O films on borosilicate glass at room temperature from hydroxyapatite targets using nitrogen, argon and krypton beams at different acceleration voltages. The sputtering target was pressed from high purity hydroxyapatite powder or mixture of high purity hydroxyapatite powder and red phosphorus in order to optimise the film composition. The film composition, determined using time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis (TOF-ERDA), was found to be strongly dependent on the ion energy used for deposition. By extra doping of the target with P the correct Ca/P atomic ratio in the deposited films was reached. The films deposited on Si were amorphous even after annealing at 800 °C. The biocompatibility of the films was investigated using osteoblast-like cells. The film deposited under optimal conditions exhibited dendritic growth, indicative of more realistic chemical signalling than for other substratum e.g. polystyrene or plain glass.