Surface Modification of Polymers by using Excimer Laser for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The current development in medical engineering induces new demands on materials. Polymers with specific surface treatment are used in new fields of application. A combination of convenient sensor technologies opens new investigation opportunities in cell culture technology. The focus of this work is to determine a set of suitable parameters for the surface modification of polymers by excimer laser irradiation and the effect on cellular growth. Polystyrene slides were pretreated in a developed functionalizing chamber by means of excimer laser irradiation in different reactive gas atmospheres. The results show that directed cell growth and adhesion can be influenced with the presented methods.