Superlow Fouling Sulfobetaine and Carboxybetaine Polymers on Glass Slides

Abstract

This work describes the superlow fouling properties of glass slides grafted with zwitterionic polymers to highly resist the adsorption of proteins and the adhesion of mammalian cells. Glass slides were first silanized using 2-bromo-2-methyl-N-3-[(triethoxysilyl)propyl]propanamide (BrTMOS). Two zwitterionic polymers, poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA) and poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate) (polyCBMA), were then grafted from the silanized glass substrates using the atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to analyze the surfaces of the silanized glass substrates and the substrates grafted with the polymers. An enzyme-linked immonosobrbent assay (ELISA) using polyclonal antibodies was used to measure fibrinogen adsorption on these surfaces. The surfaces with polySBMA or polyCBMA layers were shown to reduce fibrinogen adsorption to a level comparable with that of adsorption on poly(ethylene glycol)-like films. Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) were seeded on these surfaces. The attachment and spreading of the cells were observed only on unpolymerized glass surfaces. This work further demonstrates that zwitterionic polymers highly resist nonspecific protein adsorption and cell adhesion and provides an effective method to modify glass slides or other oxide surfaces to achieve superlow fouling.

Trends in the development of environmentally friendly fouling-resistant marine coatings

“…Aldred et al 26 explored cyprid behaviour on two zwitterionic polymer coatings (poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA) and poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate) (polyCBMA)), both of which completely inhibited cyprid settlement and are resistant to protein adsorption 27 . On polySBMA and on bare glass, cyprids explored the surface, but were unwilling or unable to settle (Fig.…”

Preventing bacterial adhesion on scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

“…The most widely used method to graft zwitterionic polymers to surfaces is the surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) [33] . Among zwitterionic polymers, pSBMA has been grafted to different substrates such as gold [33] , glass [34] and poly(tetrafluoroethylene) membranes [35] to attain unfouling surfaces.…”

Switchable Materials Containing Polyzwitterion Moieties

“…Polysulfobetaines poly (30), poly(32), poly (34) and poly (36) were transformed via hydrolysis to polymers also bearing secondary negatively charged functionalities. In the case of poly (30) and poly (32), acidic hydrolyses of the carboxybetaine ester with 6 M HCl were performed at 53˝C for 48 h and neutralization with two equivalents of NaOH resulted in the formation of polymers poly(31) and poly (33) [67,68]. Similarly, the acidic hydrolysis of phosphate diester in poly (34) and poly (36) was performed at 95˝C in 24 h [69,70].…”

“…Polyzwitterionic materials consist of highly ionic monomers and form a strong hydration layer based on electrostatic interaction with water molecules [26]. This effect is most remarkable in the formation of polyzwitterionic brushes, which were applied to the formation of surfaces highly resistant to protein adsorption [27], non-specific protein adsorption from serum and plasma [28,29] and bacterial adhesion [30][31][32].…”