The scope of this work is to fathom different possibilities to create functional coatings with polymer brushes. The immobilization of nanoparticles and enzymes is investigated, as well as the affection of their properties by the stimuli-responsiveness of the brushes. Another aspect is the coating of 3D-nanostructures by polymer brushes and the investigation of the resulting functional properties of the hybrid material. The polymer brush coatings are characterized by a variety of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, with a special emphasis on the establishment of the combinatorial quartz crystal microbalance/spectroscopic ellipsometry technique as a tool to characterize the functional properties of the polymer brush systems insitu. The pH-responsive swelling of the polyelectrolyte brushes poly(acrylic acid) and poly(2-vinylpyridine), as well as the thermoresponsive swelling of poly(N-isopropylacryl amide) is studied in detail by this technique. Poly(2-vinylpyridine) and binary poly(N-isopropylacryl amide)-poly (2-vinylpyridine) brushes are used as templates for the insitu-synthesis of palladium and platinum nanoparticles with catalytic activity. As an example for the use of polymer brushes to immobilize enzymes, the model enzyme glucose oxidase is physically adsorbed to poly (2-vinylpyridine) and poly (acrylic acid) brushes and also covalently bound to poly (acrylic acid) brushes. In the last part of this thesis, sculptured thin films are coated with poly (acrylic acid) and poly (N-isopropylacryl amide) brushes and the swelling characteristics as well as the adsorption behavior of the model protein bovine serum albumin are investigated.

The scope of this work is to fathom different possibilities to create functional coatings with polymer brushes. The immobilization of nanoparticles and enzymes is investigated, as well as the affection of their properties by the stimuli-responsiveness of the brushes. Another aspect is the coating of 3D-nanostructures by polymer brushes and the investigation of the resulting functional properties of the hybrid material. The polymer brush coatings are characterized by a variety of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, with a special emphasis on the establishment of the combinatorial quartz crystal microbalance/spectroscopic ellipsometry technique as a tool to characterize the functional properties of the polymer brush systems insitu. The pH-responsive swelling of the polyelectrolyte brushes poly(acrylic acid) and poly(2-vinylpyridine), as well as the thermoresponsive swelling of poly(N-isopropylacryl amide) is studied in detail by this technique. Poly(2-vinylpyridine) and binary poly(N-isopropylacryl amide)-poly (2-vinylpyridine) brushes are used as templates for the insitu-synthesis of palladium and platinum nanoparticles with catalytic activity. As an example for the use of polymer brushes to immobilize enzymes, the model enzyme glucose oxidase is physically adsorbed to poly (2-vinylpyridine) and poly (acrylic acid) brushes and also covalently bound to poly (acrylic acid) brushes. In the last part of this thesis, sculptured thin films are coated with poly (acrylic acid) and poly (N-isopropylacryl amide) brushes and the swelling characteristics as well as the adsorption behavior of the model protein bovine serum albumin are investigated.