Polymerized Coatings and Films for Biological Applications

Dear Colleagues,

The plasma deposition of thin polymer films is a growing field, in which the bio-applications of these films are promising and useful implementations of such materials. The advantages of plasma-deposited polymer layers, compared with conventional coatings, are numerous: the technology is substrate independent, the environmentally friendly process is low temperature, and such polymer films are versatile. Although the use of plasma technologies for biological applications began more than 30 years ago, there are still many open questions related to the optimization of the process itself, the surface chemistry, the real application of these films for tissue engineering, etc. Today, plasma-deposited polymers have been successfully employed for the enhancement of cell adhesion, immobilization of biomolecules, modification of nanomaterials for drug loading, and many other applications. However, all such achievements have only been shown on a laboratory scale, and new scientific input is required in order to push plasma-polymerized polymer films toward a higher level of technological readiness.

The aim of this Special Issue of Coatings is to highlight the progress made with respect to plasma polymerized films for biological applications, new bio-applications of plasma layers, new methods for plasma polymerized film characterization, and the development of the fundamental understanding of the interaction between the surface of plasma polymers with biomolecules and cells.

In particular, topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In vitro and in vivo analysis of plasma-coated polymers, nanomaterials, and metals;
• Plasma-polymerized films for biosensing;
• Investigation of the influence of different surface chemistries on cell surface interaction;
• Deposition of plasma polymers with pH-responsive properties;
• Antimicrobial plasma-polymerized films;
• Plasma layers for tissue engineering and wound healing.

Dr. Anastasiya Solovieva
Dr. Anton M. Manakhov
Guest Editors

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