Biological characteristics of human fetal skin fibroblasts and MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells on tantalum-doped carbon films

Tantalum is considered a highly biocompatible metal with high corrosion resistance. Metal-doped amorphous carbon films are gaining interest as an effective surface modifier for medical devices. In this study, tantalum (Ta), TaC/amorphous carbon (a-C), and Ta-containing amorphous hydrogenated carbon films (Ta-C:H) were synthesized using a twin-gun magnetron sputtering system to improve biological properties and explore potential applications for surgical implants or devices. Reactive C₂H₂, activated by the tantalum plasma in the magnetron sputtering process, was used to deposit the Ta-C:H coatings. The deposited TaC/a-C coatings, in which TaC was embedded in the amorphous carbon matrix as a nanocomposite film, exhibited favorable cell viability of the human osteosarcoma cell line (MG-63), similar to uncoated titanium. Among the examined materials, Ta-C:H coatings exhibited the highest biocompatibility for WS1 human fetal skin fibroblast cells derived from soft tissues and demonstrated the highest biological performance.