Coating of coverslips with glow-discharged carbon promotes cell attachment and spreading probably due to carboxylic groups

BACKGROUND: For high-resolution microscopy, cells have to be analyzed through thin glass coverslips. Therefore, it is necessary to culture cells on coverslips for preservation of cell morphology. We found cell attachment and spreading to be relatively slow processes, even when cells were plated on coated coverslips. This slowness presents a problem, particularly when synchronized cell populations are used. METHODS: In this paper, we present a method that is based on glow-discharged carbon coating of coverslips which promotes rapid attachment and spreading of cells, enabling rapid analysis of cells after plating. Results obtained with carbon-coated coverslips were compared with those of other types of coating. Two fibroblast lines, an epithelial cell line, and a carcinoma cell line were tested. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: All cell lines showed a rapid adhesion on carbon-coated coverslips. With fibroblasts we found the carbon coating to be superior to other coatings tested, mainly because the carbon did not influence cell morphology. Using synchronized or irradiated cells produced similar results. The superior performance of carbon coating is probably due to carboxylic groups on the glow-discharged carbon layer. The carbon layer does not interfere with microscopy or immunocytochemical staining procedures.