Characterization of initial biological interactions

Some examples of biologically relevant thin films are layers made by adsorbed proteins that are the precursors for cell attachment, bacterial films or biofilms, and coatings of minerals such as hydroxyapatite to enhance integration of the implants to bones. This section describes the evaluation of some of the biological attributes of such surface coatings. 

The mass or the thickness of adsorbed proteins can be determined by one of four techniques, ELM, SPR, QCM, and XRR, described in Section 5.2. Here, we will discuss radiolabeling, which has an advantage over other nonlabeled techniques because of its unparalleled sensitivity (in the range of picomolar concentrations, depending on the specific application) and a large linear range of detection by j-ray detectors. For these reasons, despite the hazardous nature of radioactive material, radiolabeling remains a powerful and commonly used method. 

Reprinted with permission from Lane, D.J.R., Richardson, D.R., 2011. WiUiam Hunter and radioiodination revolutions in the labelhng of proteins with radionuchdes of iodine. Biochem. J. 2011, cl—4, 2011 Portland Press. 

Thin Film Coatings for Biomaterials and Biomedical Applications 

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization—time-of-flight mass spectrometry MALDI-ToF MS is a variant of mass spectroscopy with the advantage of avoiding molecule fragmentation, especially with large organic molecules such as proteins. 

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