Bioengineered material surfaces for medical applications

Man-made materials are increasingly being applied as substitutes for defective functions in human hosts. These biomaterials may be non-viable materials used in medical devices interacting with biological systems. Such engineered materials should be biocompatible, i.e. with minimal non-specific protein adsorption. This paper describes the functionalization of soft biomaterial surfaces and diamond-covered silicon wafers controlled by surface spectroscopies such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), as well as contact angle measurements and scanning force microscopy (SFM). Surface functionalization is obtained with molecules such as phosphorylcholine, carbohydrates, dextran or peptides added to various soft and hard materials. Surface analytical tools are able to control the chemistry, energy and topography of surfaces and thin films with high sensitivity down to the femtomole range and nanometer resolution. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.