Concentrated polymer brush-modified silica particle coating confers biofouling-resistance on modified materials

Biofouling, an undesired adsorption of biological material to otherwise inert surfaces, is detrimental in medical, pharmaceutical, and other sectors. Concentrated polymer brushes (CPB) confer non-biofouling properties on modified surfaces but are cumbersome to fabricate. Here, a simple and versatile method of fabricating non-biofouling coatings for various substrates was developed using CPB-modified silica nanoparticles (SiPs). Concentrated poly(poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (PPEGMA) brushes were grafted on SiPs by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. CPB-SiPs were spin-coated onto silicon wafers or quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor chips with phenyl azido cross-linkers. SiP cross-linking was then performed by ultra violet irradiation for 20s, or by heating at 120°C for 12h. Protein adsorption to coatings was studied by QCM approach and human umbilical vein endothelial cell adhesion to coatings was examined. SiP to cross-linker weight ratios were varied from 2.0/0.5 to 9.0/0.5 (wt/wt%) and the coatings almost completely suppressed protein adsorption and cell adhesion to treated surfaces. The coating was also applied to polymeric films, rendering these materials biofouling-resistant.