Biomimetic Bottlebrush Polymer Coatings for Fabrication of Ultralow Fouling Surfaces

Abstract

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, three block polymers offering stability, efficacy, and ease of use were designed. The bottlebrush‐structured polymers adsorbed strongly on silica surfaces in less than 10 minutes by a simple drop casting or online exposure method and were extremely stable in high‐salinity solutions and across a wide pH range. Antifouling properties against proteins and bacteria were evaluated with different techniques and ultralow fouling properties demonstrated. With serum albumin and lysozyme adsorption <0.2 ng cm−2, the polymers were 50 and 25 times more effective than LUB and known ultralow fouling coatings. The antifouling properties were also tested under MPa compression pressures by direct force measurements using surface forces apparatus. The findings suggest that these polymers are among the most robust and efficient antifouling agents currently known.

Electrochemical Biosensor with Enhanced Antifouling Capability for COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Detection in Complex Biological Media

“…Biofouling processes are usually caused by charge and hydrophobic interactions between interferents and interfaces as demonstrated in the past. 32 , 33 Hence, electrical and hydrophilic properties of the designed peptide were investigated. A peptide property calculator was used to quantify the net charge of the peptide at pH = 7.…”

Kinetic comparison of isomeric oligo(ethylene oxide) (meth)acrylates: Aqueous polymerization of oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate and methyl 2‐(oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether)acrylate macromonomers

“…8,9 Densely grafted molecular bottlebrushes have higher molecular weights between entanglements in the melt, leading to lower intrinsic viscosities and lower moduli than conventional polymer chains with small substituents. [10][11][12] These properties enabled use of molecular bottlebrushes as specialty materials, such as lubricants, [13][14][15] nanomaterials, [16][17][18] surfactants, [19][20][21] drug delivery vehicles, [22][23][24] and as supersoft elastomers with tissue-like mechanical properties. [25][26][27][28][29][30] Bottlebrushes can be prepared by grafting small monomers from a multi-functional initiator backbone in Dedicated to Professor Klaus Müllen on the occasion of his 75 th birthday.…”

“…Densely grafted molecular bottlebrushes have higher molecular weights between entanglements in the melt, leading to lower intrinsic viscosities and lower moduli than conventional polymer chains with small substituents 10–12 . These properties enabled use of molecular bottlebrushes as specialty materials, such as lubricants, 13–15 nanomaterials, 16–18 surfactants, 19–21 drug delivery vehicles, 22–24 and as supersoft elastomers with tissue‐like mechanical properties 25–30 …”

Interaction between Bottlebrush Polymers and Phospholipid Membranes in Solutions

“…Bottlebrush polymers are a special kind of polymers with unique structures, which consist of a linear backbone and polymeric side chains. Bottlebrush molecules will have many potential applications due to their special chain topology, which is different from traditional linear polymers [ 12 ], including molecular pressure sensors [ 13 ], pH-sensitive molecular probes [ 14 ], super-soft elastomers [ 15 ], antifouling, and stimuli-responsive surface coatings and lubricants [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Notably, the role of the bottlebrush molecules in the medical field has aroused the interest in the interaction between bottlebrush polymers and phospholipid membranes.…”