Selected aspects of the state of the art in biomaterials for cardiovascular applications.

A review of selected aspects of biomaterials used for cardiovascular applications is presented in honor of the long-term editorship of John Brash of the journal Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces. The topics to be discussed include the following: 1. Hemostasis, a high barrier to the use of biomaterials in the cardiovascular system; 2. Newer fundamental studies of protein interactions with surfaces; 3. Recent research on protein resistant materials; 4. Clinical application of nonfouling polymers; 5. A brief comment on "superhydrophobic" surfaces; 6. A short history of my many interactions with John Brash. The review topics were chosen on the basis of interest to the author as well as relevance to the research interests of John Brash, and on each topic chosen only a few representative articles are reviewed here.