Anti-protein and anti-bacterial behavior of amphiphilic silicones

Silicones with improved water-driven surface hydrophilicity and anti-biofouling behavior were achieved when bulk-modified with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) -silane amphiphiles of varying siloxane tether length: α-(EtO)₃Si-(CH₂)₂-oligodimethylsiloxane -block-poly(ethylene oxide)₈-OCH₃ (m = 0, 4, 13, 17, 24, and 30). A PEO₈-silane [α-(EtO)₃Si-(CH₂)₃-PEO₈-OCH₃] served as a conventional PEO-silane control. To examine anti-biofouling behavior in the absence versus presence of water-driven surface restructuring, the amphiphiles and control were surface-grafted onto silicon wafers and used to bulk-modify a medical-grade silicone, respectively. While the surface-grafted PEO-control exhibited superior protein resistance, it failed to appreciably restructure to the surface-water interface of bulk-modified silicone and thus led to poor protein resistance. In contrast, the PEO-silane amphiphiles, while less protein-resistant when surface-grafted onto silicon wafers, rapidly and substantially restructured in bulk-modified silicone, exhibiting superior hydrophilicity and protein resistance. A reduction of biofilm for several strains of bacteria and a fungus was observed for silicones modified with PEO-silane amphiphiles. Longer siloxane tethers maintained surface restructuring and protein resistance while displaying the added benefit of increased transparency.