The correlation between elastic properties and AFM images of nanocoatings on polymers

Abstract

In a biomimetic approach for designing implants, both the physical properties (such as topography, elasticity, roughness, hydrophilicity, charges etc.) and the chemical structure of the artificial biomaterial should be considered, since they affect the adhesion of proteins in the nanometer-scale and of the cells in micro-scale at the interface. In this case, surface modification of biomaterials plays a major role because of the expectations from the material surface. These may be realized by changing the surface chemistry, physically or chemically, or by coating it with a material having a certain chemical composition. In this study, surface properties like topography and roughness, and mechanical properties like elastic modulus and hardness are determined for nanocoated materials.