Chapters authored
Surface Modification of Polystyrene by Nitrogen Plasma Treatment
Polystyrene has been utilized in biomedical purposes, interacting with various biological molecules. The interactions can be physical adsorption or a long-lasting chemical bonding, depending on the surface characteristic and behaviors. The characteristic can be designed related to the targeted interactions with the molecules by creating certain roughness, morphology, and patterns of the surface. Original characteristics of the material were usually enhanced by its surface modifications. Plasma treatments have been used to modify the polymer surfaces, resulting in a specifically targeted behavior such as hydrophobicity and molecule selectivity through the physical adsorption. A nitrogen plasma treatment is one of the effective and economical surface modification processes. The nitrogen gas is abundant in the atmosphere and generates nontoxic active plasma species for the polymer surface modification. The plasma treatment effectively changes the hydrophobicity and adsorption of the surface.
Part of the book: Coatings and Thin-Film Technologies