Polysaccharides are a promising material for nonfouling surfaces because their chemical composition makes them highly hydrophilic and able to form water-storing hydrogels. Here we investigated the nonfouling properties of hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) against marine fouling organisms. Additionally, the free carboxyl groups of HA and CS were postmodified with the hydrophobic trifluoroethylamine (TFEA) to block free carboxyl groups and render the surfaces amphiphilic. All coatings were tested with respect to their protein resistance and against settlement and adhesion of different marine fouling species. Both the settlement and adhesion strength of a marine bacterium (Cobetia marina), zoospores of the seaweed Ulva linza, and cells of a diatom (Navicula incerta) were reduced compared to glass control surfaces. In most cases, TFEA capping increased or maintained the performance of the HA coatings, whereas for the very well performing CS coatings the antifouling performance was reduced after capping.

Amphiphilic coatings are promising candidates for fouling-release applications. As hydrophilic components, polysaccharides are interesting and environmentally benign building blocks. We used covalently coupled alginic acid (AA) and hyaluronic acid (HA) and postmodified them with a hydrophobic fluorinated amine. The surfaces showed good stability under marine conditions and fluorination led to a decreased uptake of Ca(2+) ions after modification. In single species settlement assays (bacteria, diatoms, barnacle cypris larvae), the modification decreased the settlement density and/or the adhesion strength of many of the tested species. Field studies supported findings of the laboratory experiments, as hydrophobic modification of AA and HA decreased diatom colonization.

Among the first events after immersion of surfaces in the ocean is surface 'conditioning'. Here, the accumulation and composition of the conditioning films formed after immersion in the ocean are analyzed. In order to account for different surface chemistries, five self-assembled monolayers that differ in resistance to microfouling and wettability were used. Water samples from two static immersion test sites along the east coast of Florida were collected at two different times of the year and used for experiments. Spectral ellipsometry revealed that conditioning films were formed within the first 24 h and contact angle goniometry showed that these films changed the wettability and rendered hydrophobic surfaces more hydrophilic and vice versa. Infrared reflection adsorption spectroscopy showed that the composition of the conditioning film depended on both the wettability and immersion site. Laboratory and field assays showed that the presence of a conditioning film did not markedly influence settlement of microorganisms.