William Leventon offers a good overview of the importance of surface modification techniques and enabling technologies for the medical device industry in Experts Weigh In: Selecting the Right Surface Modification in the August edition of MD&DI magazine.  The article discusses the primary functions of a coating, including: 

• Creating a barrier to protect the device from the environment or to protect the environment from the device
• Modifying the surface characteristics (e.g. changing a hydrophobic surface to hydrophilic)
• Locking a functional material in place (see our prior post on electron beams for functional coatings)