Dear Colleagues,

The technologies and processes for modifying and functionalizing surfaces are often the decisive keys to successfully demonstrate the feasibility of an idea or to implement a technology in the laboratory or at industrial scale. This is particularly true in the following research and development fields: medical technology, implants, biosensors, tissue engineering, biotechnology, and drug delivery. Material modification or functionalization of the surface is often the basic requirement to be able to control and manage the interaction of biomolecules, cells, bacteria, viruses, and tissues with the surface. While the modification of the surface is not necessarily intended to integrate a specific function, but to specifically influence the interaction mechanisms, the functionalization often aims at complex processes between the above-mentioned biological building blocks and the surface, for the realization of a specific application. Physical, chemical, structural, biomolecular, and nanotechnological methods are developed for both goals, addressing complementary or even overlapping objectives. Often, different methods are also combined. A key success factor, in addition to the evaluation of the methodology and the proof of function for modification and functionalization, is the application and development of appropriate measurement methods and characterization techniques to test the modification and functionalization.

This special issue of MDPI Processes on 'Surface Modification and Functionalization for Biological and Medical Application' aims to summarize relevant work and serve as a working tool for future developments in biotechnology and medicine. For this purpose, we are looking for research contributions that address the modification or functionalization of surfaces or their characterization. Possible topics here (although these will not be limited to these) are:

• Physical surface modification methods (plasma, electron beam, light, irradiation, optical, multiphoton, nanoimprint, 3D-printing, electrospinning, drop-casting, sputtering, spin-coating, microwave, laser ablation, vacuum drying, critical CO₂ drying method, Cryo-fixation, mechanical milling, thermal decomposition, ultrasonication, ...),
• Chemical surface modification methods (surface chemistry on nanoparticles or macroscopic surfaces, polymer chemistry, wet- process modification, anodic oxidation, derivatization of natural polymers, chemical vapor deposition, prodrug synthesis, pyrolysis, sol-gel method, ...),
• Structural surface modification methods (grinding, imprinting, etching, laser treatment, ...),
• Biomolecular and biochemical surface modifications (physical adsorption and self-crosslinking of biomolecules, chemical conjugation of biomolecules to surface groups, cell seeding and growth, functionalization using proteins, monoclonal antibodies, small peptides, aptamers, small nucleotides, siRNA, drug molecules, immunogens or antigens, viral-vector nano-vaccines, subunit vaccines, live-attenuated vaccines, ...),
• Surface modification based on nanotechnological approaches (deposition or integration of nanoparticles, nanopatterning, poly-electrolyte complexation, ionic- gelation, galvanic replacement for metal nanoparticles, double-emulsion techniques, bottom-up method, top-down method, biosynthesis, ...), and their combination or surface functionalization methods, as well as articles on characterization and measurement of such surface modifications. The submitted papers should all aim at specific applications in biotechnology and medicine.

We look forward to your active contribution to this special issue by submitting your scientific papers (original articles, rapid communications, review articles, case studies, perspectives) and we hope that together we can support all our work in the future.

Dr. Sreejith Raveendran
Dr. Jörg Opitz
Dr. Natalia Beshchasna
Dr. Nadia Licciardello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• biochemical surface functionalization
• surface modification
• micro/nano-patterning
• nanoparticles
• biomolecules
• biomedicine
• medical technology
• drug discovery
• targeted- delivery
• novel therapeutics