Surface Engineering and Cell Adhesion

Cell adhesion is a multi-process phenomenon involving physical, physico-chemical and biological mechanisms. The complexity of interfaces is the reason why progress in the theory of cell adhesion has been slow. Greater understanding of interaction mechanisms has been enhanced by complete knowledge of supports and of biological components, in particular the extracellular matrix, membrane walls, cell multiplication processes and apoptosis. The construction of novel surfaces with strongly hydrophilic or ultrahydrophobic properties has allowed new theoretical advances, while at the same time offering numerous and varied technological applications. These include: • Bioadhesion with mechanical anchoring using ubiquitous surface roughness and deformability of certain micro-organisms. • Physico-chemical bioadhesion or repellence resulting mainly from the energy characteristics of support surfaces. • Processes of sorting and guidance by biomolecules present at the support–biofilm interface, generating biochemical responses that can induce cell multiplication or degeneration (as in cancer), or cell death.