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Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Aerobic Biodegradation Testing of Materials Using a Natural Marine Seawater Inoculum and Closed Loop Respirometer
Published on: October 24, 2025
Degradable Polymer with Protein Resistance in a Marine Environment
Jielin Ma1, Chunfeng Ma1, Guangzhao Zhang1,2
1†Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, PR China.
Abstract:
Protein resistance is the central issue in marine antibiofouling. We have prepared poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based polyurethane with 2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DEM) as pendant groups by a combination of the thiol-ene click reaction and the condensation reaction. By the use of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), we have investigated the adsorption of fibrinogen, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and lysozyme on the polymer surface. The polymer exhibits protein resistance in seawater but not in fresh water because DEM pendant groups carry net neutral charges in the former. The evaluation of antibacterial adhesion of the polymer by using Micrococcus luteus demonstrates that the polymer can effectively inhibit the settlement of marine bacteria. Our studies also show that the polymer is degradable in marine environments.
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