## 2 Materials and Methods
### Plasma Deposition in LP and Aerosol-Assisted AP  
The plasma deposition of cell-repulsive and cell adhesive coatings in LP regime was carried out in radiofrequency (RF), 13.56 MHz, glow discharges ignited in stainless steel (SS) reactor with asymmetric vertical parallel plate electrodes, as well described elsewhere [13; 24]. The inter-electrode gap is 60 mm between the grounded electrode (180 mm diameter) and the RF-powered electrode (80 mm diameter). The smallest electrode is connected to the RF power supply through a matching network unit. Different experimental conditions were investigated, to study the effect of the input power, and of the gas feed on the final chemical characteristics of the deposited films and, in turn, on their cell-repulsive attitude. Vapors of diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DEGDME, CH\({}_{3}\)O(CH\({}_{2}\)CH\({}_{2}\)O)\({}_{2}\)CH\({}_{3}\), purity 99.98% Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA), also known as di-glyme, were used as a precursor with or without vapors of Vinyl acetate (VAc), CH\({}_{3}\)CO\({}_{2}\)CH=CH\({}_{2}\)\(\geq\)99% (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) to modulate cell adhesive propriety. Input powers were changed in the range 5-50 W; the VAc/DEGDME ratios were changed from 5/0 (i.e., 5 sccm VAc plus 0 sccm DEGDME) to 0/5 (i.e., 0 sccm VAc plus 5 sccm DEGDME). Samples were fixed with double-sided copper adhesive tape on a sample holder positioned on the ground electrode. Argon (Air Liquide, 99.95) was used as the carrier gas in the case of plasma depositions performed with only DEGDME to increase deposition rate [5]. A turbo-rotary pump system (Pfeiffer) was used to maintain the process pressure at 53 Pa, as monitored with a baratron (MKS Instruments, Andover, MA, USA). The deposition time was kept constant at 60 min. The home-made experimental apparatus for aerosol-assisted AP plasma deposition is composed of a parallel plate dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) electrode system (4 mm inter-electrode gap), enclosed in an airtight Plexiglas chamber. Each electrode (\(50\times 50\) mm\({}^{2}\) area) is covered with a Al\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{3}\) dielectric plate. The plasma was generated with a high voltage alternating current (AC) power supply (SG2 STT Calvatron) working in the 15-50 kHz frequency (f) range. [25] Experiments were run at 16 kHz and 26 kHz at applied voltages (Va) of 6.5 kV\({}_{\text{p-p}}\) and 8.5 kV\({}_{\text{p-p}}\). The applied voltage was measured with a High Voltage probe (Tektronix P6015A). The current (I\({}_{\text{m}}\)) and the charge (Q) were determined indirectly by measuring (with a Tektronix P2200 probe), respectively, the voltage drop across a 50 \(\Omega\) resistor and a 4.7 nF capacitor connected in series with the ground electrode [26]. Data were recorded with a digital oscilloscope (Tektronix TDS20143). The power dissipated in the discharge was calculated with the Manley method, by using voltage-charge (V-Q) Lissajous figure [27]. The DBD was fed by He, ethylene, or the aerosol of TEGMDE. Two different flows of He were used and controlled using mass flowmeters (MKS), to change the concentration of TEGMDE precursor in the feed mixture. In particular, a fixed He flow rate of 3.15 slm (\(\phi\)He-TEGMDE aerosol) was utilized for the operation of a pneumatic atomizer (TSI, model 3076) and allowed introduction in the DBD 0.02 g\(\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\) (i.e., 1.7 sccm) of TEGMDE. A variable He flow rate (\(\phi\)He-carrier) was used to transport the aerosol in the discharge (4.85 or 6.85 slm). The ethylene flow rate was kept fixed at 8 sccm. The feed mixture was let longitudinally in the inter-electrode gap through an inlet slit and pumped out (membrane pump) through a second slit on the opposite side. The pressure inside the Plexiglas chamber was monitored with an MKS baratron, kept constant at 101,325 Pa by regulating the pumpingspeed with a needle valve. Before each experiment, the Plexiglas chamber was flushed with He (4 slm) for 15 min.