Collagen and elastin are the main proteins of extracellular matrix. Collagen plays a crucial role in tensile strength of tissues, whereas elastin provides resilience to many organs. Both biopolymers are readily available and biocompatible. These properties point out that collagen and elastin are good components of materials for many potential medical applications. The surface properties of biomaterials play an important role in biomedicine as the majority of biological reactions occur on the surface of implanted materials. One of the methods of surface modi. cation is UV-irradiation. The exposition of the biomaterial on ultraviolet light can alterate surface properties of the materials, their chemical stability, swelling properties and mechanical properties as well. The aim of our work was to study the surface properties and biocompatibility of new collagen/elastin based biomaterials and consideration of the influence of ultraviolet light on these properties. The surface properties of collagen/elastin based biomaterials modified by UV-irradiation were studied using the technique of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle measurements. On the basis of the results the surface free energy and its polar component was calculated using Owens-Wendt method. To assess the biological performance of films based on collagen, elastin and their blends, the response of 3T3 cell was investigated. It was found that the surface of collagen/elastin film is enriched in less polar component-collagen. Exposition on UV light increases polarity of collagen/elastin based films, due to photooxidation process. The AFM images have shown that topography and roughness of the materials had been also affected by UV-irradiation. The changes in surface properties influence on interaction between the material's surface and cells. The investigation of 3T3 cells grown on films based on collagen, elastin and their blends, leads to the conclusion that higher content of elastin in biomaterial promotes the cell adhesion and their viability on the surface. Also the suitable dose of UV light (1, 2 h) improves the biocompatibility of the materials. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.