1) Biomedical application
Suitability of a material for biomedical applications is significantly determined by the interaction with the biological system. In this connection properties such as surface chemistry and structure as well as degradation behaviour, but above all also the manifestation of cell-material-interactions play an important role. With the help of tissue cells comprehensive investigations are performed, in order to determine the suitability of (chemical, physical) surface modifications. Important parameters which are used for characterisation of the cell-material-interaction are:
Cell adhesion
Proliferation
Migration
Cytotoxicity
Expression of cell- or tissue-specific markers
Activation of signalling cascades
Degradation
2) Non-medical application
The colonisation of materials with microorganisms can be used to evaluate possible application scenarios. Interaction of the materials with the microorganisms in this connection above all provides information about the longevity of a product. At the same time insights can be gained about the susceptibility to microbial growth and about the efficacy of conservation strategies. Therefore, a main focus of the work in the microbiological laboratory are investigations with regard to:
Characterisation of the material damage caused by microorganisms
Identification of material-damaging microorganisms
Manifestation of species-specific characteristics on non-typical substrate surfaces
Biological degradability of materials
