Ti and TiAlV foils enhanced with PLD and flash-deposited carbon: On cytocompatibility and antibacterial activity

• Ti and TiAlV surface was enhanced by carbon deposition and annealing. • Surface chemistry of Ti and TiAlV was strongly affected by excimer laser annealing. • PLD-deposited carbon layers provided superior antibacterial activity. • Combinations of the carbon deposition and laser annealing was studied in detail. • Possibility of large scale manufacturing of treated substrates was suggested. In this study, we investigated the effects of carbon layer deposition on titanium (Ti) and titanium alloy (TiAlV) substrates using "flash" vaporization and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) techniques. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the PLD method produced a higher sp3 carbon bond content than the evaporation method (61 vs . 47 %). Atomic force microscopy and surface wettability analyzes showed differences in surface roughness and contact angle, with PLD-deposited samples exhibiting enhanced hydrophilicity and wrinkled morphology. Subsequent laser annealing optimized surface properties by increasing hydrophobicity, which is critical for cell adhesion. Surface chemistry analysis via scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy demonstrated significant carbon enrichment in the PLD-deposited samples, mainly for TiAlV substrate. Cytocompatibility tests using human osteosarcoma cells (U-2 OS) revealed varying cell adhesion and proliferation based on surface modification, with PLD-deposited layers promoting better cell interaction. Both carbon deposition techniques enhanced antibacterial effect. This suggests the potential of PLD-deposited carbon layers for biomedical applications, particularly in enhancing implant surfaces for improved cell growth and adhesion, and reduce bacteria, the nanostructured substrates may serve also for subsequent replication process into polymer.