Open air atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) enhanced chemical vapour deposition process was used to deposit biocompatible SiO x /TiO x composite coatings. The as deposited films are hydrophilic and show visible light induced photocatalytic effect, which is a consequence of the formation of defects in the TiO x structure due to the plasma process. This photocatalytic effect was verified by the demonstration of an antimicrobial effect under visible light on E. coli as well as by degradation of Rhodamine B. The films are non-cytotoxic as shown by the cytocompatibility tests. The films are conductive to cell growth and are stable in DMEM and isopropanol. The structural evaluation using SEM, EDS and XPS shows a dispersion of TiO x phase in a SiO x CyHz matrix. These analyses were used to correlate the structure-property relationship of the composite coating.

No abstract