Effect of Intermediate Ion Cleaning of the Titanium Target on the Structure of Bioresorbable PLLA Scaffolds under Coating Deposition by DC Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

The effect of intermediate ion cleaning of the Ti target on the structure and properties of the polymer fiber scaffold made by electrospinning from poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) was investigated during deposition of Ti-N-containing coatings by DC reactive magnetron sputtering of the Ti target in a nitrogen atmosphere. SEM investigation shows that the selected plasma treatment modes can modify fiber PLLA scaffolds without changing their morphological properties. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy showed that the Ti concentration on the surface of PLLA scaffolds is increased under intermediate ion cleaning of the target, although ion cleaning did not affect the Ti distribution across the scaffold cross section. Using optical goniometry, it was found that scaffold surface treatment allows changing the contact properties of the surface from hydrophobic to hydrophilic.