Medical devices are a multi-billion-dollar industry, yet biocompatibility issues, including inflammation, thrombosis, and device failure, are still rampant and often inevitable. There is a critical need to develop novel surface materials that can dampen, mitigate, or eliminate biocompatibility issues arising at the biological interface. 

Toward this goal, there is a strong motivation for researchers to share their methods of coating and coating assessment. Often, the experimental condition of coating assessment can dramatically impact the observed efficacy, indicating a crucial need to better standardize the testing approach. 

This Methods Collection aims to highlight various techniques focusing on the application and evaluation of biomaterial surface coatings, particularly for medical device applications, to improve the standardization and reproducibility of coating technology and evaluation. Some topics of interest include, but are not limited to: 

• Methods for synthesizing polymers, surface grafting, and evaluating biocompatibility on medical device surfaces 
• A scalable approach for effectively coating large surfaces, such as artificial lung membranes 
• Methods to assess the inflammatory and thrombotic responses of blood-bearing medical devices at cellular and macroscopic levels 
• The role of fluid mechanics, e.g., static contact and dynamic flow loop assessments in blood-contacting medical devices and technology 
• Small and large animal models to evaluate the biocompatibility of medical devices, such as hemodialysis, ventricular assist devices, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation 
• Novel anticoagulation approaches, including drug development, controlled drug release, and coatings