Inorganic PVD and CVD Coatings in Medicine — A Review of Protein and Cell Adhesion on Coated Surfaces

Medical devices that come in contact with biological media are fabricated using many different types of materials including metals, polymers, ceramics and natural materials [1]. Currently available biomaterials, however, do not provide optimal performance [2]. In clinical application, inflammation reactions due to inappropriate implant surface might add on top of the inflammatory process, already initiated by the surgical procedure. Then, e.g., non-mechanically stable connective tissue rather than bone is formed around a bone implant (artificial hip joint, dental implant, etc.) or blood clotting may occur around a stent. Less biologically perturbing surfaces may lead to a bone healing process and blood flow, which is similar to that in the absence of an implant. Designing such surfaces by various techniques is one

of the main goals of biomaterials research [3, 4]. However, the precise mechanisms involved in this cell-surface and protein-surface interactions are still unknown.