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Conducting Polymer-Infused Electrospun Fibre Mat Modified by POEGMA Brushes as Antifouling Biointerface
Jesna Ashraf1,2, Sandy Lau3, Alireza Akbarinejad1,2
1Polymer Biointerface Centre, School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
Researchers developed antifouling biointerfaces using sulfonated polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (sSEBS) infused with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). Grafting poly(oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (POEGMA) brushes significantly improved protein repulsion, enhancing suitability for biomedical applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Biofouling on biomedical devices causes contamination and failure.
- Existing antifouling strategies, like polyethylene glycol brushes, have limitations.
- Conducting polymer biointerfaces offer promise for bioelectronic applications but face antifouling challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate electrospun fiber mats combining sulfonated polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (sSEBS) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT).
- To impart antifouling properties to these conductive fiber mats by grafting poly(oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (POEGMA) brushes.
- To evaluate the antifouling efficiency and biocompatibility of the modified biointerfaces.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of electrospun sSEBS-PEDOT fiber mats.
- Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) to graft POEGMA brushes onto the sSEBS-PEDOT mats.
- Electropolymerization of an EDOT derivative with initiating sites (EDOTBr) to create a platform for brush grafting.
- BCA protein assay to quantify antifouling efficiency.
- Cell viability assays to assess biocompatibility.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated conductive (2.06 ± 0.1 S/cm), porous sSEBS-PEDOT fiber mats.
- Grafted POEGMA brushes onto the fiber mats via SI-ATRP, confirmed by polymerization kinetics.
- Fiber mats with 30-mer POEGMA brushes demonstrated ~82% protein repulsion.
- Grafted fiber mats exhibited cell viability >80%, comparable to controls.
Conclusions:
- The developed sSEBS-PEDOT fiber mats functionalized with POEGMA brushes exhibit excellent antifouling properties.
- These conductive, porous, and biocompatible biointerfaces are suitable for bioelectronic applications.
- Potential applications include biosensors, liquid biopsy, wound healing substrates, and drug delivery systems.
