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.

Amyloid‐Like Protein Aggregates: A New Class of Bioinspired Materials Merging an Interfacial Anchor with Antifouling

“…Although excellent antifouling synthetic materials have been developed, such as 2‐methacryloyloxy ethyl phosphorylcholine, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and zwitterionic polymers, [ 15–23 ] none can simultaneously merge material‐independent interfacial anchor with antifouling to construct a robust coating on virtually arbitrary material surfaces. This situation results in complexity and difficulty for molecular design to introduce specific interfacial adhesion moiety for physical coating or covalently grafting, and such efforts usually suffer from cumbersome and time‐consuming procedures that are not applicable for scale‐up industrial applications.…”

Self‐Healing, High Adherent, and Antioxidative LbL Multilayered Film for Enhanced Cell Adhesion

“…Based on the previous study, the films with antiadhesion ability to cells by adding 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (MPC) are prepared, inspired by the mucinous domain of lubricin, which possesses excellent superlubrication property and antibiofouling performance. [ 40 ] The cells (NHDF and Acropopa formosa coral cells) were seeded on the following groups: the control group was (CCS/OALG) film and (CCS‐R/OALG‐D) 2:1 films while Test groups were CCS/OALG/MPC films that were coated with UV crosslinked polymerization. The adherent cell density to the films was observed with fluorescent inverted microscope (OLYMPUS IX71) and the density, and inhibition rate of the adherent cells on the films were determined and calculated by Image J Software.…”

Neue Mitglieder der National Academy of Sciences 2019

“…Unter den neuen NAS‐Mitgliedern sind Paula T. Hammond (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), die vor kurzem in einer Angewandte‐Chemie ‐Zuschrift über die Polyamin‐vermittelte Aggregation von Ribonukleoproteinen für einen verbesserten mRNA‐Transport berichtete, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski (Carnegie Mellon University), dessen Zuschrift über belagshemmende biomimetische Polymerüberzüge für den Vortitel der Angewandten Chemie ausgewählt wurde, und Omar M. Yaghi (University of California, Berkeley) der einen Essay über den Aufbau eines wissenschaftlichen Forschungszentrums in Vietnam für die Angewandte Chemie verfasste . Über diese drei Forscher wurde in dieser Rubrik bereits ausführlich berichtet, vier ihrer Kollegen stellen wir in der Folge vor.…”