First month of a New Year 2012 I devoted to mechanical characterization of coatings functionalized with polyelectrolytes. I made a review of the literature in the field of film stiffness control methods and evaluation of the results. Properties of the coatings could be characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), quartz microbalance (QCM), piezo-rheometry, methods of resonance frequencies, bulging test, hanging drops technique, osmotic pressure and qualitative/quantitative analysis of growth and cell proliferation. The stiffness obtained for polyelectrolyte layers varies in the range from a few kPa to several GPa, depending on the structural properties and the degree of cross-linking. Both the ionic cross-linking (a process dependent on the ionic strength and pH of the reaction), and covalent cross-linking of chemically induced or activated by light has an effect on the mechanical properties of the coating. I carried out a series of tests intended to verify the optimum mechanical properties of polyelectrolyte biomaterial surfaces dedicated to contact with blood using biological tests.

In January I also wrote an abstract entitled “The thermal and chemical stability of the porous scaffolds for the controlled cell deposition”, which will be presented on E-MRS 2012 Spring Meeting, Symposium G: Functional Biomaterials.