General aspects of protein adsorption

The study of protein adsorption on a mechanistic and quantitative basis is still a relatively young science and a general theory encompassing all aspects cannot be given. Till now the possibility of synthesizing surfaces in a controlled way, to elucidate the mechanism of protein adsorption - a possibility existing since the advent of affinity chromatography nearly two decades ago - has only been utilized to a small extent. Since this technique, however, has allowed the derivation of some general principles of protein adsorption and protein adsorption kinetics, which would otherwise not have been amenable for study, these results will be mainly referred to here.