In recent years, methods have evolved to deposit thin organic films from plasma environments that exhibit good control of chemistry along with the uniformity and substrate adhesion expected from plasma deposition. Three examples will be presented illustrating chemical control with special application to biomaterials. (1) Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (pNIPAM) exhibits a solubility transition at 32 °C in an aqueous environment. When grafted onto a solid substrate, the pNIPAM phase transition produces a "smart" surface with strongly varying physical properties switchable with small temperature changes. Cells adhere and grow on ppNIPAM at 37°C and detach from the surface at room temperature. The ppNIPAM surfaces are non-toxic and excellent for cell growth. A microheater array can spatially control cell attachment to a ppNIPAM-treated chip. This suggests possibilities for cellomic and proteomic devices. (2) Since plasma environments destroy complex biomolecules, a new instrument has been constructed that combines electrospray ionization with plasma treatment of surfaces to produce a fast, efficient, flexible means to treat the surfaces of biomaterials with active biomolecules. The system has been successful in depositing intact, chemically bound hyaluronic acid (HA) onto plasma-activated stainless steel surfaces. (3) Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) has been widely applied in tissue engineering scaffolds or for delivery of bioactive molecules, as it breaks down in the body to lactic acid, a component of the normal metabolism The pulsed plasma deposition techniques has been used to form thin PLLA coatings using cyclic lactide monomer. Such films degrade in a phosphate buffer solution.