A need exists to develop robust, adhesive insulating coatings for biomedical hardware implanted in vivo. Although many organic polymers have been found to be biocompatible, long-term adhesion to metal substrates has yet to be achieved. We propose to prepare novel composite films which interlock with each other as well as with an etched metal substrate. High surface area primer coatings will be electrochemically generated on Pt substrates. Scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical techniques will assess the surface morphology and coherence. These high surface area primer coatings will then be interlocked with Paralene and tested for adhesivity at the University of Missouri (Columbia). The ultimate goal of this work is to provide the biomedical community in general and NIH in particular with superior insulating composite coatings for implantable hardware.
