Biomimetic non-fouling surfaces: extending the concepts

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biotechnology
• Surface Chemistry

Background:

• Surface fouling by proteins and biological media is a major challenge for biomedical devices.
• Existing antifouling strategies often require specific substrate chemistries or pre-activation steps.
• Developing versatile and effective antifouling coatings is crucial for device performance and longevity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a substrate-independent biomimetic modification route for creating antifouling polymer brushes.
• To synthesize and characterize polymer brushes with excellent antifouling properties.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of these brushes in resisting protein and blood plasma fouling.

Main Methods:

• Formation of a polydopamine anchor layer on diverse substrates.
• Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of antifouling polymers.
• Characterization using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), infrared reflection-adsorption spectroscopy (IRRAS), and water contact angle measurements.
• Evaluation of antifouling performance using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with protein solutions and human blood plasma.

Main Results:

• Precisely controlled nanometer-scale thickness of polymer brushes was achieved.
• Biomimetic brushes demonstrated complete suppression of single protein adsorption.
• Fouling from undiluted human blood plasma was reduced to less than 3% compared to bare surfaces.
• The modification procedure is non-destructive and substrate-independent.

Conclusions:

• The proposed biomimetic modification route offers a facile and versatile method for fabricating robust antifouling surfaces.
• These polymer brushes show exceptional resistance to biofouling in complex biological media.
• This technology holds significant promise for advancing the development of next-generation biotechnological and biomedical devices.