Polyelectrolyte multilayer surface functionalization of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) for reduction of yeast cell adhesion in microfluidic devices

Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) based on the combinations poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)∕poly(acrylic acid) (PDADMAC∕PAA) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride)∕PAA (PAH∕PAA) were adsorbed on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and tested for nonspecific surface attachment of hydrophobic yeast cells using a parallel plate flow chamber. A custom-made graft copolymer containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains (PAA-g-PEG) was additionally adsorbed on the PEMs as a terminal layer. A suitable PEM modification effectively decreased the adhesion strength of Saccharomyces cerevisiae DSM 2155 to the channel walls. However, a further decrease in initial cell attachment and adhesion strength was observed after adsorption of PAA-g-PEG copolymer onto PEMs from aqueous solution. The results demonstrate that a facile layer-by-layer surface functionalization from aqueous solutions can be successfully applied to reduce cell adhesion strength of S. cerevisiae by at least two orders of magnitude compared to bare PDMS. Therefore, this method is potentially suitable to promote planktonic growth inside capped PDMS-based microfluidic devices if the PEM deposition is completed by a dynamic flow-through process.