Formation of biofilms on equipment
used in various fields, such
as medicine, domestic sanitation, and marine transportation, can cause
serious problems. The use of antibiofouling and bactericidal modifications
is a promising strategy for inhibiting bacterial adhesion and biofilm
formation. To further enhance the antibiofilm properties of a surface,
various combinations of bactericidal modifications alongside antibiofouling
modifications have been developed. Optimization of the arrangements
of antimicrobial peptides on the antibiofouling surface would allow
us to design longer-life antibiofilm surface modifications. In this
study, a postmodification was conducted with different design using
the antimicrobial peptide KR12 on an antibiofouling copolymer film
consisting of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, 3-methacryloxypropyl
trimethoxysilane, and 3-(methacryloyloxy) propyl-tris(trimethylsilyloxy)
silane. The distance of KR12 from the film was adjusted by combining
different lengths of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacers (molecular
weights are 2000 and 5000). The density of KR12 was ranged from 0.06
to 0.22 nm–2. When these modified surfaces were
exposed to a nutrient-rich TSB suspension, the bacterial area formed
by E. coli covered 5–127% of the original
copolymer film. We found that a significant distance between the bactericidal
and antibiofouling modifications, along with a higher density of bactericidal
modifications, slows down the biofilm formation.