Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
Aerosol-assisted plasma deposition of hydrophobic polycations makes surfaces highly antimicrobial
Harris Liu1, Yoojeong Kim, Kerrianne Mello
1Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Abstract:
The currently used multistep chemical synthesis for making surfaces antimicrobial by attaching to them hydrophobic polycations is replaced herein by an aerosol-assisted plasma deposition procedure. To this end, N,N-hexyl,methyl-PEI (HMPEI) is directly plasma-coated onto a glass surface. The resultant immobilized HMPEI coating has been thoroughly characterized and shown to be robust, bactericidal against Escherichia coli, and virucidal against human influenza virus.
Related Concept Videos
Biofilms
Chemical Agents for Microbial Control
Colloidal precipitates
Surface Membrane Barriers
The outer layer of the skin, the epidermis, is a robust barrier comprising layers of closely packed keratinized cells. This dense arrangement prevents microbes from penetrating the body. The periodic shedding of epidermal cells...

