Synthetic biomaterials are widely used in medical implants with success in
improving and extending quality of life. However, these materials were not
originally designed to interact with cells through specific signaling pathw
ays. As a result, the interaction with the body is mediated through passive
adsorption of a disorganized protein monolayer. Next generation biomateria
ls have been proposed to be active in modifying the biological response of
the host through the incorporation of specific biorecognition moieties. An
important tool in the development of these novel active biomaterials is the
scanning force microscope (SFM). The SFM allows for interrogation of bioac
tive biomaterials in mapping or spectroscopic modes. In this work, micropat
terned protein surfaces were prepared using biomolecules implicated in woun
d healing. The surfaces were imaged via SFM and the specific binding forces
between surface associated biomolecules and antibody functionalized tips w
ere quantified. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese
rved.