Surface adsorption of proteins

Protein adsorption is an early event on a surface after implantation and it has a strong effect in the following biological response of an implant: tissue integration, inflammatory response, eventual bacterial infection.

The effects of different surface modification (topography, surface charge, roughness, chemical composition) on protein adsorption will be investigated both from a quantitative and quality standpoint considering eventual changing in protein structure and the type of bond with the surface.

The focus is on adsorption from solutions of albumin or fibronectin as well as on competitive adsorption of these proteins from serum.

A part from implantable surfaces, protein adsorption is a common issue for several surfaces used in the biomedical area: according to different purposes, the research can be applied to different devices and with different aims. Are currently under investigation titanium, glass and polymer surfaces