An overview of protein adsorption on metal oxide coatings for biomedical implants

Surface modification of biomaterials can improve the performance and lifetime of current metallic implantable devices. Metal oxide coatings represent a potential surface modification to enhance the biocompatibility and other biological-related properties, such as the biocorrosion resistance of the metallic implants. In order to design biocompatible metal oxide coatings with tailored properties, it is necessary to get a deeper understanding of the foreign surface-biological interactions, such as the protein-surface interaction, which is the initial process occurring at the implant-biological ambiance contact. By understanding such interaction and the influence of the physicochemical properties of the oxide films on it; then, it might be possible to properly design oxide coatings for a large variety of implant devices from blood to bone contacting implants. Along the paper, different examples are presented in order to support the importance of the protein-surface interaction as a first indicator of biocompatibility and biofunctionality, as well as the existing correlation between protein adsorption and the physicochemical surface properties of metal oxide films. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.