NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine a nonadhesive, medicated, artificial heart valve coating that prevents blood platelets and bacteria from sticking. Picture the harnessing of thin layers of bacteria to fight the biofouling of ships and other marine systems. Visualize ultrananocrystalline diamond as a hermetic coating on bio-implants, and you begin to enter the futuristic world uncovered by advances in coatings and surface modification technology, a new report from market research publisher Specialists in Business Information (SBI).
While the market goes widely unnoticed, it is huge. For instance, an estimated $2 billion per year of the U.S.'s gross domestic product is invested solely to prevent and remediate damage from rust, one of the main drivers in the coatings industry. This, however, does not begin to take into consideration the use of coatings and surface modification technologies spanning every major industry. Coatings also play a crucial role in the success of medical systems, gears and turbines, near-infrared optical sensors, biocompatible electronics, industrial sealants, and antireflectants, among others.
Yet challenges abound, as the need to produce both economically competitive and defect-free coatings often comes along with a high environmental impact. Advances in miniaturization; extreme heat situations, such as those found with aerospace turbine engines; and degradation issues continue to pose unique challenges as well.
"There exists a significant gap between fundamental materials science and the ability to bring new thin film systems to fruition," notes Don Montuori, publisher of SBI. "However, improvements in process modeling, computational hardware, and efficient new algorithms have made it possible to produce realistic simulations of important physical and chemical effects which may be encountered by new coatings."
"Advances in Coatings and Surface Modification Technology" is a comprehensive study of the market for a variety of coatings and technologies primarily affecting the electronic, industrial, detection, solar, and medical fields. It reviews significant technical developments, discusses potential applications, and provides status reports of the various stages of development of key technologies. Priced at $1995, the report is available from SBI by going to its Web site. It is also available at MarketResearch.com.
About Specialists in Business Information
Specialists in Business Information (SBI), a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes research reports in the industrial, construction, and materials markets. For more information visit the company's Web site, or contact Tom Ehart at 240-747-3014, or e-mail [email protected].