Intelligent polymeric biomaterials surface driven by plasma processing

Abstract

Low temperature plasma (LTP) process is a green method to impart surface characteristics and tailored functionalities to materials for revolutionary changes in many areas such as biomedical, packaging, sensors etc. Many natural and synthetic polymeric systems were used to fabricate stimuli-responsive systems with a wide range of applications. To overcome the difficulty of adding different chemical moieties to the surface of fabricated systems via wet methods, plasma treatment has been utilized for surface functionalization, stimuli-responsive polymer-coating deposition, grafting, and patterning. Plasma processes do not utilize strong chemical agents and there is no need of post-purification, so it is considered eco-friendly compared to conventional wet chemical process. This mini- review presents the recent developments of intelligent polymeric materials and the impact of plasma process as an enabling technology for the possibility of fabricating smart biomaterials surface.