Characterization of thin films for biomedical applications

Sung Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States 

Tissue response is determined by a sequence of events that occurs at several different time and length scales. After hydration of the implanted surface, which occurs on a microsecond timescale, small molecules migrate toward the surface in milliseconds, and protein over a timescale of minutes. Subsequent cell attachment that occurs over the adsorbed protein layers determines the long term tissue response of the implanted material. Each of these processes needs to be characterized and understood when designing the surface to elicit the required tissue response. Some features of the surface layer that are typically monitored include macroscopic characteristics such as the thickness and the surface energy of the layer, the hydration state of the surface layer, the structure and conformation of 

Thin Film Coatings for Biomatorials and Biomedical Applications. htip //dx.doLoi l0.1016/B978-l-78242-453-6.00005-5 

Hiin Film Coadngs for Biomaterials and Biomedical plications 

Areas in which such measurements are useful are tissue scaffolds, regenerative medicine, drug discovery, biosensors, and biofouUng. For the most part, study of the adsorption of proteins is amenable to detailed investigation and is often used as a proxy to predict cell response to substrates. In vitro measurements do not always correlate with in vivo results. Nevertheless, an understanding of the fundamental biophysical chemistry of the protein adsorption can provide usefid insight into tissue response. These measurements are useful in applications such as dmg discovery, food science, and generally any material development effort 

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