Polymer Brushes Showing Non‐Fouling in Blood Plasma Challenge the Currently Accepted Design of Protein Resistant Surfaces

Abstract

Ultra-low-fouling poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide] (poly(HPMA)) brushes have been synthesized for the first time. Similar to the so far only ultra-low-fouling surface, poly(carboxybetaine acrylamide), the level of blood plasma fouling was below the detection limit of surface plasmon resonance (SPR, 0.03 ng·cm(-2)) despite being a hydrogen bond donor and displaying a moderate wettability, thus challenging the currently accepted views for the design of antifouling properties. The antifouling properties were preserved even after two years of storage. To demonstrate the potential of poly(HPMA) brushes for the preparation of bioactive ultra-low fouling surfaces a label-free SPR immunosensor for detection of G Streptococcus was prepared.

From Self-Assembled Monolayers to Coatings: Advances in the Synthesis and Nanobio Applications of Polymer Brushes

“…Typically quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) [160,161] or surface plasmon resonance (SPR) [162][163][164][165] using single and multicomponent solution is used for the detection of adsorbed proteins. In pursuit to minimize protein adsorption, Surman and coworkers [166] recently compared polymer brushes of poly[oligo(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate], poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)), poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide] (PHPMA) and poly(carboxybetaine acrylamide) and their resistance to fouling when exposed to blood plasma, showing PHPMA had the best hemocompatibility with good stability, preserved for two years [167]. In an attempt to pacify some conflicting results in the literature, a more recent report compared exposure to single donor plasma versus plasma from several donors pooled together [168].…”

Functionalizable low-fouling coatings for label-free biosensing in complex biological media: advances and applications

“…To preserve the biological activity of the immobilized biorecognition elements, hydrophilic low-fouling surfaces based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and its derivatives have been a popular choice [12]. Recent advances in polymer chemistry have led to the development of novel zwitterionic and non-ionic polymer brushes, which have been proved to provide excellent resistance to fouling even from the most complex biological fluids, including undiluted blood serum and plasma [6,8,11,13]. There have been several reports of the successful attachment of biorecognition elements to some of these coatings [8,11]; however, a deterioration of the fouling properties of the coatings was observed after the attachment of biorecognition elements.…”

“…To suppress nonspecific adsorption to the sensor surface, multiple research groups have pursued the development of coatings that enable the immobilization of biorecognition elements while also providing a low-fouling background [3,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Herein, coatings with fouling levels <1000 pg mm −2 in single or complex protein solutions are referred as to "antifouling".…”

A Novel Approach to Quantitatively Assess the Uniformity of Binary Colloidal Crystal Assemblies

“…To control biointerfacial interactions through surface chemistry many sophisticated surface modification strategies have been developed. These approaches include the fabrication of polymeric coatings to prevent biofouling, such as the grafting of poly(ethylene glycol) [3][4][5], polyacrylamide [6][7][8], poly(N-hydroxy methacrylamide) [9] and poly(N-hydroxy acrylamide) [10] or zwitterionic polymer coatings [11,12], amongst others. Through the simultaneous or subsequent immobilisation of bioactive signals such as peptides onto these non-fouling backgrounds it is possible to generate surfaces capable of directing specific cellular responses such as attachment and proliferation.…”