A simple swelling and anchoring method for preparing dense and stable poly(ethylene oxide) layers on polystyrene surfaces

Simple Coatings to Render Polystyrene Protein Resistant

“…Surprisingly, the other successful anti-fouling surface, PS + F127, does not produce the same results in this case. Values found in literature for PS + F127 however show much lower contact angles, of around 64 degrees [16]. The discrepancy may relate to rinsing protocols as F127 is not stably adsorbed on the PS surface.…”

“…However, we hypothesize that desorption of the Pluronic layer from the polystyrene surface is an additional cause of the continuous upward drift. This drift highlights the issue found in literature regarding the short life-span of this protein resistant coating [14,16], which is why we are also investigating polydopamine assisted coatings. The dopamine molecule has been shown to adhere to many diverse surfaces including polystyrene.…”

“…These problems have also been described in literature by several groups. For example, Marsh et al [14] reported XPS analysis which proved that after 24 h in PBS, the Pluronic coating had washed off, and Su et al [16] showed that after immersion in water for one week, the polystyrene originally coated in F127 had near plain polystyrene contact angles [26,28].…”

Understanding the Interfacial Properties of Nanostructured Liquid Crystalline Materials for Surface-Specific Delivery Applications

“…51 The more hydrophobic PPO portion of the F127 molecule adsorbs onto the liquid crystalline surface, while the hydrophilic PEO portion extends into the aqueous phase. 49,50 We also speculate that the greater mass of F127 adsorbed at the phytantriol-based H 2 phase system compared to the V 2 phase system may be due to the differences in relative surface hydrophobicity, as demonstrated in the AFM study. Although the differences in surface topology of the two phases 32,47,52,53 may also be a contributing factor, the topology of the two cubic phases is anticipated to be similar, yet the interaction with F127 is quite different, leading to the conclusion that the interaction at the molecular level and not topologically is more significant.…”

“…The proposed configuration was also adopted by Larsson and co-workers as the mechanism by which F127 interacts with and stabilizes GMO cubosomes in water. 13,36 Given that the F127-induced phase transformation is absent for phytantriol systems, and according to the AFM study, the surfaces of phytantriol-based substrates are regarded as relatively hydrophobic, we hypothesize that the adsorbed configuration of F127 on the liquid crystalline surface is likely to be similar to the interaction between F127 and other typical hydrophobic surfaces such as polystyrene 49,50 and carbon black. 51 The more hydrophobic PPO portion of the F127 molecule adsorbs onto the liquid crystalline surface, while the hydrophilic PEO portion extends into the aqueous phase.…”