Biomimetic bottle-brush polymer coatings for fabrication of ultra-low fouling surfaces

Abstract

The increasing demand for long lasting antifouling surfaces has steered the development of accessible, novel, biocompatible and environmentally-friendly materials. Inspired by lubricin (LUB), a component of mammalian synovial fluid with excellent antifouling properties, we designed three block polymers with bottle-brush structures and outstanding stability, efficacy, and ease of use. By a simple drop casting or online exposure, the polymers strongly adsorbed on silica surfaces in less than 10 min and were found to be stable in extremely high-salinity solutions and under an unprecedented wide range of pH. The polymers antifouling properties against proteins and bacteria were evaluated using different techniques, demonstrating ultralow fouling properties. With serum albumin and lysozyme adsorption < 0.2 ng/cm2, the polymers were found to be 50 and 25 times more effective than LUB and the known ultralow fouling coatings. The antifouling properties were also successfully tested under MPa compression pressures by direct force measurements using the surface forces apparatus (SFA). The findings of this study suggest that these polymers are amongst the most robust and efficient antifouling agents known today.