A coating for a surface of a surgical implant, the coating including a binding protein for capturing cells to the surface via a bi-functional linker molecule. The linker can have a first functional group (such as a trichlorosilyl group) for covalently linking to the surface, and a second functional group (such as a benzothiosulfonate group) for covalently linking to the binding protein. One exemplary linker molecule is S-(11-trichlorosilyl- undecenyl) benzenethiosulfonate. The coating may be a self-assembled monolayer and may also include a spacer molecule, which can be unreactive with the binding protein. The target cells to be captured may be endothelial stem cells (such as endothelial progenitor cells). The binding protein may be an antibody, antibody fragment or non-antibody derived antigen binding molecule. The binding protein may bind a cell surface marker specific to target cell type. Coated surgical implants, and methods of forming such a coating are also contemplated.
