Creating biomimetic polymeric surfaces by photochemical attachment and patterning of dextran

In this work, we report the preparation of photoactive dextran and demonstrate its utility by photochemically attaching it onto various polymeric substrates. The attachment of homogeneous and patterned dextran films was performed on polyurethane and polystyrene, with detailed analysis of surface morphology, swelling behavior, and the protein resistance of these substrates. The described photoactive dextran and attachment procedure is applicable to a wide variety of substrates while accommodating surfaces with complex surface geometries. Dextran with azide content between 22 and 0.3 wt % was produced by esterification with p-azidobenzoic acid. Dextran (1.2 wt % azide) was photografted onto plasma oxidized polyurethane and polystyrene and displayed thicknesses of 5 +/- 3 and 7 +/- 3 nm, respectively. The patterned dextran on oxidized polyurethane was patchy with a nominal height difference between dextranized and nondextranized regions. The azidated dextran on oxidized polystyrene exhibited a distinct step in height. In the presence of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), the dextranized regions became smoother and more uniform without affecting the height difference at the oxidized polyurethane boundary. However, the dextranized regions on oxidized polyurethane were observed to swell by a factor of 3 relative to the dried thickness. These dissimilarities were attributed to hydrogen bonding between the dextran and oxidized polyurethane and were confirmed by the photoimmobiliization in the presence of LiCl. The resulting surface was the smoothest of all the azidated dextran samples (R(rms) = 1 +/- 0.3 nm) and swelled up to 2 times its dried thickness in PBS. The antifouling properties of dextran functionalized surfaces were verified by the selective adsorption of FITC-labeled human albumin only on the nondextranized regions of the patterned polyurethane and polystyrene substrates.