European Coatings Conference
"MEDICAL COATINGS AND ADHESIVES"
April 10th - 11th 2008 / Berlin, Germany

"The race for the surface" is what researchers working on medical devices often talk about, as macromolecules, cells and bacteria all compete with each other to attach to the surface of such devices. On the one hand, the ultimate goal is to create surfaces, which prevent the attachment of unwanted "bad" cells or molecules, preventing dangerous infections caused by medical devices. But in the case of surgical implants, the promotion of "good", e.g. beneficial cell growth or even the structured, designed growth of specific tissue on the devices is the goal, while infections have to be avoided simultaneously. Vast research activities are currently being conducted to achieve these goals, with specially designed coatings systems or specific surface treatments. Various ideas originating from nanomaterial developments have further boosted this research.

Other developments are concerned with a similar problem: How can biological materials or tissues effectively yet biocompatibly be glued together, allowing the attachment of implants to cell material or the repair of tissue defects with special adhesives? Again, very interesting recent developments tackle this question, often inspired by biology itsself - more and more, materials research draws on solutions that have been found in nature, e.g. from how mussels attach to solid materials.

As a premiere within the series of the European Coatings Conferences, the European Coatings Conference "Medical Coatings and Adhesives" sets out to shed some light on such novel developments in this rapidly evolving field, aiming to discuss on a high technical level the current state-of-the-art of coatings and adhesives used on medical devices and instruments in contact with biological matter. International experts from industry and academia will deliver high-level technical presentations, making you familiar with their latest research results, and facing up to your critical questions about the uses and practical applicability of these results. Interactive focus workshops on specific technical issues, a common feature at all European Coatings Conferences, will provide additional opportunities for an intense exchange of information. Further to this, the Pre-Conference Tutorial "Material surfaces and biological matter" will give you the opportunity to update your knowledge on the fundamental effects that govern the interaction between device materials and biological matter.

Do not miss this premiere - see you in Berlin!