Effects of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) treatment on chitosan/polyethylene oxide nanofibers and their cellular interactions

[Display omitted] •Plasma treatment increases the surface energy of CS/PEO nanofibers without causing morphological changes.•Incorporation of polar oxygen and nitrogen groups improve surface free energy.•Plasma treatment of chitosan/polyethylene oxide nanofibers strongly improves cellular interactions.•Cell behaviour changes according to the type of incorporated functional groups.•Argon plasma treatment provides the best results in cell adhesion and proliferation. In this study, chitosan (CS)/polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibrous mats (Ø: 166 ± 43 nm) were fabricated by electrospinning and subsequently surface-modified by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) sustained in argon, ammonia/helium or nitrogen. The surface properties of the CS/PEO nanofibers (NFs) before and after plasma treatment were characterized using contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additionally, the mechanical properties and PEO leaching in aqueous conditions of the different NFs under study were examined by tensile tests and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy respectively. Finally, cell behavior and cell morphology of human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs) on the CS/PEO NFs were evaluated via live/dead fluorescence microscopy, MTT assays and SEM. The obtained results revealed that the surface free energy of the CS/PEO NFs was significantly increased after plasma modification, which was correlated to an enrichment in surface oxygen (Ar, N2, NH3/He) and nitrogen (N2, NH3/He) functional groups. All performed plasma treatments also led to an increase in ultimate tensile strength, most likely due to an increased fiber-to-fiber friction. Additionally, it was also observed that N2 plasma treatment resulted in a decrease in PEO release, which could be attributed to more pronounced surface cross-linking. Cellular interactions on the CS/PEO NFs also significantly increased due to the performed plasma treatments. The best cellular response was noted for the Ar plasma modification although the surface hydrophilicity was the lowest in this case. These observations thus suggest that not only the wettability characteristics but also the presence of distinct functional groups on plasma-treated CS/PEO NFs have a significant influence on the observed enhanced cellular interactions.