**Author details**

**Substrate Plasma media**

Ammonia/ allylamine

Acetylene then

Ammonia

Allylamine + Ar

Allylamine / ethylene-diamine / nylon + N2,H2

Propylamine/ allylamine/ propargyl-amine

Polyethylene terephtalate

38 Advances in Bioengineering

Polytetra-fluoroethylene, polystyrene and silicone

Polyethylene terephtalate and polytetrafluoroethylene

Titanium

Titanium alloy

Si wafer

cell-material interactions

**6. Conclusions and future trends**

**Cell / biomolecule type**

lymphocyte, MHCclass-II-positive cells

Fibroblast

Human umbilical

Fibroblast

**Table 1.** Representative overview of plasma processes for the incorporation of amine groups and their influence on

From the work presented in this chapter, it is clear that amine plasma based techniques are powerful versatile tools to modify a material surface in order to make it more biocompatible. However, despite the vast array of choices offered by plasma processing techniques, there remain a significant number of hurdles that must be overcome to allow this methodology to realize its full potential in the area of biocompatible materials. Challenges include issues associated with analytical characterization, material structure, plasma processing, and uniform composition and thickness following treatment. A better understanding of the cellbiomaterial interactions is of crucial importance providing us with essential clues about which strategies should be pursued. As our fundamental understanding of these complex phenom‐ ena further develops, better control over cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation will

Polyethylene terephtalate Allylamine Fibrinogen Increased protein adsorption and

ammonia Heparin Good immobilization of heparin and

**Observations Ref**

retarded blood coagulation [78]

denaturation [89]

spreading [39, 65]

spreading [59]

[47]

[60]

Improved cell adherence, spread and growth for both processes with greater improvements for the plasma polymerization process

vein endothelial cells Improved cell adhesion and growth [88]

Osteoblast Improved initial cell adhesion and

Osteoblast Improved initial cell adhesion and

Improvement of cell attachment and proliferation with better results for PPA than PPP and PPG

Gaelle Aziz\* , Nathalie De Geyter and Rino Morent

\*Address all correspondence to: Gaelle.Aziz@ugent.be

Ghent University, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, Department of Applied Physics, Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Ghent, Belgium
