In modern technology, there is a constant need to solve very complex problems and to fine-tune existing solutions. This is definitely the case in modern medicine with emerging fields such as regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The problems, which are studied in these fields, set very high demands on the applied materials. In most cases, it is impossible to find a single material that meets all demands such as biocompatibility, mechanical strength, biodegradability (if required), and promotion of cell-adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. A common strategy to circumvent this problem is the application of composite materials, which combine the properties of the different constituents. Another possible strategy is to selectively modify the surface of a material using different modification techniques. In the past decade, the use of nonthermal plasmas for selective surface modification has been a rapidly growing research field. This will be the highlight of this review. In a first part of this paper, a general introduction in the field of surface engineering will be given. Thereafter, we will focus on plasma-based strategies for surface modification. The purpose of the present review is twofold. First, we wish to provide a tutorial-type review that allows a fast introduction for researchers into the field. Second, we aim to give a comprehensive overview of recent work on surface modification of polymeric biomaterials, with a focus on plasma-based strategies. Some recent trends will be exemplified. On the basis of this literature study, we will conclude with some future trends for research.

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Besides their use as packaging materials, biodegradable polymers can play a major role in tissue engineering as three‐dimensional porous structures (scaffolds). The success of these biodegradable scaffolds is, however, determined by the response it elicits from the surrounding biological environment and this response is governed, to a large extent, by the surface characteristics of the scaffold. Multiple approaches have been developed to obtain the desired surface properties, however, in the past decade, the use of non‐thermal plasmas for selective surface modification has been a rapidly growing research field. This paper therefore presents a critical overview on recent advances in plasma‐assisted surface modification of biodegradable polymers.

Plasma treatment is often used to modify the surface properties of polymer films, since it offers numerous advantages over the conventional surface modification techniques. In this paper, a polypropylene (PP) film is plasma-treated using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operating in air at medium pressure (5.0 kPa). The modified polymer films are characterized using contact angle measurements, XPS-analysis and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Results show that plasma treatment leads to a remarkable decrease in contact angle owing to the implantation of oxygen-containing functional groups. Using XPS and ATR-FTIR, these oxygen-containing groups can be identified as C-O, C O and O-C O. In this paper, it is also shown that XPS is well-suited to provide quantitative chemical analysis of the PP films, while ATR-FTIR can only give qualitative information. To perform quantitative ATR-FTIR measurements, chemical derivatization will be explored in the near future.