The utility of time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) in real-life applications for biological surfaces, organic monolayers and polymeric coatings is described. Different examples illustrate how with the use of suitable control experiments and relative quantitative analysis, TOF-SIMS can provide direction in the development of surface modification and surface coating processes. For bio-active surfaces, TOF-SIMS was used to identify non-specific binding in a multi-step sandwich assay. For monolayer organic coatings, TOF-SIMS was used to determine the covalent attachment and orientation of different organic molecules on metal surfaces. For thin polymeric coatings, relative quantitation was used to determine the degree of cure, specify process conditions needed for suitable curing and identify a catalyst to reduce curing times. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.