NESAC/BIO Mission Statement

NESAC/BIO's mission is to develop and apply new surface analysis technologies for biomedical research. Our surface analysis expertise combined with state-of-the-art instrumentation and data analysis methods allows us to expand the frontiers of biomedical surface analysis.

NESAC/BIO provides expert and detailed information about surface properties (composition, structure, spatial distribution, and molecular orientation) needed by biomedical researchers. State-of-the-art instrumentation is coupled with specialized experimental protocols and data analysis methods to address a wide range of biomedical research and development issues. Combining our surface analysis expertise with collaborators’ biomedical expertise provides the information needed to develop new generations of biomaterials and biomedical devices.



New developments in materials science and biology that make it possible to control surface chemistry on an increasingly smaller scale are placing increased demands on surface analysis techniques. These developments include:

-Decreasing the lateral dimensions of controllable chemical variations
-Increasing the complexity of molecules being introduced at the surface
-Increasing the sophistication of surface manipulations


NESAC/BIO’s continuing work at the frontiers of surface analysis allows us to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by these new developments. Since starting as an ESCA center, NESAC/BIO has evolved and now has an extensive suite of complementary, surface analysis techniques (ESCA, ToF-SIMS, SPM, NEXAFS, SPR and SFG). Within each technique we are continually expanding the types of analyses available to provide a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of biomedical surfaces.