Abstract
Ion beam irradiation of solid surfaces may result in the self-organized formation of well-defined topographic nanopatterns. Depending on the irradiation conditions and the material properties, isotropic or anisotropic patterns of differently shaped features may be obtained. Most intriguingly, the periodicities of these patterns can be adjusted in the range between less than twenty and several hundred nanometers, which covers the dimensions of many cellular and extracellular features. However, even though ion beam nanopatterning has been studied for several decades and is nowadays widely employed in the fabrication of functional surfaces, it has found its way into the biomaterials field only recently. This review provides a brief overview of the basics of ion beam nanopatterning, emphasizes aspects of particular relevance for biomaterials applications, and summarizes a number of recent studies that investigated the effects of such nanopatterned surfaces on the adsorption of biomolecules and the response of adhering cells. Finally, promising future directions and potential translational challenges are identified.
Highlights
Over the last decades, the interactions between artificial materials and biological systems have been intensively studied because of their great importance in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and biosensing [1]
Among the many contributing factors, surface topography has been recognized early on as an important trigger for cell behavior [3,4], and the following years have seen numerous studies that investigated the effects of various microscale surface topographic features on cellular response [5,6,7]
The symmetry, shape, and orientation of the nanopatterns are no longer governed by the incident ion beam but rather by the crystal structure of the surface, resulting in faceted nanostructures that are oriented along certain crystallographic directions independent of the direction of the ion beam
Summary
The interactions between artificial materials and biological systems have been intensively studied because of their great importance in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and biosensing [1]. Relevant processes in this regard are biomolecular adsorption, cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, all of which are influenced by the physicochemical properties of the surface [1,2]. The final section provides some conclusions and addresses future directions and challenges
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