On/Off Switchable Interfaces

In recent biomedical applications, surface modification has been an essential technique to control the biomolecular interaction on surfaces. This chapter focuses on dynamic control of surface properties by surface modification with smart polymers, which is called on/off switchable surfaces. For the design of switchable surfaces, there is a need to understand the biomolecular interaction on the material interfaces and how to graft polymer chains on substrate surfaces from the viewpoint of polymer nanoarchitectonics. With these features in mind, various stimuli types of on/off switchable surfaces are introduced as a function of temperature, pH, light, electric and magnetic fields, and other biomolecules. The successful examples provide key factors to design novel interface materials according to dynamic biological processes.