Stable Antifouling and Antibacterial Coating Based on Assembly of Copper-Phenolic Networks

Biofilm formation on medical devices has become a worldwide issue arising from its resistance to bactericidal agents and presenting challenges to eradicating biofouling adhesion, especially in biological fluids. Metal-phenolic networks have been demonstrated as a versatile and efficient strategy to prevent biofilm formation by endowing medical devices with prolonged antifouling and antibacterial activities in a one-step surface modification. In this study, we report a simple and environmentally friendly method using coordination chemistry between copper ions (Cu²⁺) and dopamine-containing copolymer to fabricate metal-phenolic network-based coatings. The phenolic groups also imparted the adhesion of glycopolymer-containing dopamine residues to inorganic and organic substrates, resulting in dual antifouling and bactericidal surfaces. 2-gluconamidoethyl methacrylamide monomer (GAEMA) was first copolymerized with dopamine methacrylamide (DMA) using a free-radical polymerization process. The resulting copolymer (GAEMA-DMA), denoted as GADMA, was then mixed with copper ions in a one-step process to form the GADMA-Cu coating. The GADMA-Cu coating was hydrophilic and significantly reduced the water contact angle (WCA) and adsorption of bovine serum albumin protein even after incubation in a bovine serum albumin solution for 30 h. Moreover, the coating exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and was biocompatible with 99% cell viability toward normal human fibroblast (HDFa) cells. Thus, our coating shows great potential for application in medical devices.