Concepts and Aims of Biofunctional Material Surfaces

When man-made solid materials come into contact with biofluids, in vitro or in vivo several unspecific and highly specific reactions/processes might occur, for instance, blood coagulation, denaturation of proteins, cell adhesion, or 

Surface engineering aims for a defined physical, chemical, or biomolecular modification of material surfaces in order to create biofunctional surfaces that ensure biocompatibility (noninteractive materials) and in many cases additionally bioactivity of the material (interactive biomaterials) for a certain application. The design of appropriate biofunctional surfaces is important for the proper function of biosensors, membranes or implants, for the use as 

Synthetic Bioactive Units BiopolymCTs Proteins, Polysaccharides Matrix Assemblies and Supramolecular Structures 

Peptides Matrix polymers (fihronectin, heparin sulfate, hyaluronic acid) Lipid bilayer membranes 

Surface density, orientation and/or molecular conformation of the immobilized bioactive components, and/or nonspecific adsorption of biopolymers will control the performance of biofunctional surfaces. Options to address 

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