Effects of the morphology of sulfobetaine zwitterionic layers grafted onto a silicone surface on improving the hydrophilic stability, anti‐bacterial adhesion properties, and biocompatibility

Abstract

Though silicone rubber has been used in the biomedical field, its inherent hydrophobic nature and "hydrophobic recovery" limit its wide application. In this article, cross-linked and comb-like sulfobetaine zwitterionic layers were covalently grafted onto the surface of a silicone film (SF) by ultraviolet (UV) curing in the presence and absence of cross-linking agent, respectively, after the surface was pretreated under high-energy vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation. Comparative studies were carried out to investigate the effects of the grafting layers on the surface properties, hydrophilic stability, anti-bacterial adhesion property, and cytocompatibility. The results showed that VUV-UV irradiation is an efficient modification method for introducing hydrophilic groups onto SF surface. The covalently linked zwitterions endowed the silicone surface with good hydrophilicity, a better reduction in the adhesion of bacteria relative to the properties of a pristine silicone surface. The cross-linked layer exhibited better hydrophilic stability, anti-bacterial adhesion properties and biocompatibility due to better coverage of the surface than the comb-like layer. The improvement in these properties provides the potential for the extensive application of modified silicone films in silastic implants and medical dressings.

Tailoring Diffusional Fields in Zwitterion/Dopamine Copolymer Electropolymerized at Carbon Nanowalls for Sensitive Recognition of Neurotransmitters

“…The reason is that, in functionalized electrodes, the XPS signal is gathered from the incorporated C–O catechol and C–N amines, rather than from surface C–O–C bonds. Moreover, in the case of the BCNW|PDA|PZ, there is also a possible contribution of C–S bonds of the sulfobetaine unit in this range. − In the hybrid coating, the signal corresponding to the π–π satellite peak plummets, presumably because SBMA units constitute a large portion of the coating. Since they have π bonds only in methacrylate groups, PZ does not contribute to the conjugated system of π bonds and the π–π signal is diminished.…”

Initial bacterial retention on polydimethylsiloxane of various stiffnesses: The relevance of modulus (mis)match

“…Various antimicrobial polymers, polymer-based hydrogels and polymer coated surfaces are being developed for various applications such as wound healing [5], stem cell encapsulation [6] and bone tissue engineering [7]. However, to date, the research conducted in the field of antimicrobial polymers has focused mostly on their chemical and structural aspects [8][9][10][11] and the outcomes evidence the difficulty to disentangle the role of surface chemistry, hydration state and electric charge from the intrinsic material mechanical properties.…”

Controlled structure and hydrophilic property of polymethylhydrosiloxane thin films attached on silicon support and modified with phosphorylcholine group

“…The control of structure and composition of tailored interfaces between polymers and a surrounding medium are of great importance to improve interfacial properties in a number of applications. Examples are given by surfaces of biomaterials that control the wetting and the absorption of proteins which is required in implanted medical devices [1,2], biosensors [3,4], contact lenses [5], lab-on-chips devices [6], substrates for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) [7] and blood compatible materials [8,9]. Other applications in which functional polymer plays an active role at the interfaces include membrane separation [10,11], adhesion [12] and smart surfaces with sensing properties [13,14].…”