ABSTRACT
Surface engineering improves biomolecular interactions with biomaterials. Due to the diversity of properties, functional polymer coatings are often deposited on synthetic substrates to tailor abiotic-biological interfaces. Although wet-chemical processes were first developed, increased attention has been given to vapor-based techniques for the fabrication of polymer thin films, mainly due to the ability to easily surface modify 3D geometries. Patterning and gradients provide additional features to mimic the cellular environment. The various surface modification processes described in this entry for the fabrication of (structured) functional polymer coatings are then illustrated via biologically relevant studies aimed at increasing the knowledge of biological mechanism
