In recent years, zwitterionic materials such as poly(carboxybetaine) (pCB) and poly(sulfobetaine) (pSB) have been applied to a broad range of biomedical and engineering materials. Due to electrostatically induced hydration, surfaces coated with zwitterionic groups are highly resistant to nonspecific protein adsorption, bacterial adhesion, and biofilm formation. Among zwitterionic materials, pCB is unique due to its abundant functional groups for the convenient immobilization of biomolecules. pCB can also be prepared in a hydrolyzable form as cationic pCB esters, which can kill bacteria or condense DNA. The hydrolysis of cationic pCB esters into nonfouling zwitterionic groups will lead to the release of killed microbes or the irreversible unpackaging of DNA. Furthermore, mixed-charge materials have been shown to be equivalent to zwitterionic materials in resisting nonspecific protein adsorption when they are uniformly mixed at the molecular scale.

Ultralow-Fouling, Functionalizable, and Hydrolyzable Zwitterionic Materials and Their Derivatives for Biological Applications

Keywords: Fragmentation Chain-Transfer ; Self-Assembled Monolayers ; Walled Carbon Nanotubes ; Well-Defined Polymer ; Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization ; Block-Copolymer Brushes ; Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Brushes ; Transfer Raft Polymerization ; Quartz-Crystal Microbalance ; Poly(Acrylic Acid) Brushes Reference EPFL-REVIEW-148464doi:10.1021/cr900045aView record in Web of Science Record created on 2010-04-23, modified on 2017-05-10

Polymer Brushes via Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerization: Synthesis, Characterization, Properties, and Applications

Mussels attach to solid surfaces in the sea. Their adhesion must be rapid, strong, and tough, or else they will be dislodged and dashed to pieces by the next incoming wave. Given the dearth of synthetic adhesives for wet polar surfaces, much effort has been directed to characterizing and mimicking essential features of the adhesive chemistry practiced by mussels. Studies of these organisms have uncovered important adaptive strategies that help to circumvent the high dielectric and solvation properties of water that typically frustrate adhesion. In a chemical vein, the adhesive proteins of mussels are heavily decorated with Dopa, a catecholic functionality. Various synthetic polymers have been functionalized with catechols to provide diverse adhesive, sealant, coating, and anchoring properties, particularly for critical biomedical applications.

Mussel-Inspired Adhesives and Coatings

http://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1230&context=chemengin_ideas

Surface Hydration: Principles and Applications Toward Low-fouling/nonfouling Biomaterials

A review of the biomaterials technologies for infection-resistant surfaces.

Ultra low fouling zwitterionic polymers with a biomimetic adhesive group

Functionalizable and ultra-low fouling zwitterionic surfaces via adhesive mussel mimetic linkages.

In this work, nonfouling zwitterionic polymers were grafted via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from surfaces covered with an adhesive catechol initiator. The catechol initiator was attached to both bare gold and amino-functionalized surfaces, and the nonfouling performances of the resulting polymer brushes were compared. Under optimal conditions, ultralow protein adsorption from both single-protein solutions of fibrinogen and lysozyme and complex media of 10% blood serum and 100% blood plasma/serum was achieved. Furthermore, the 3-day accumulation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the treated glass surfaces was studied in situ using a laminar flow chamber. The results showed that these zwitterionic coatings dramatically reduced the biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa as compared to the reference bare glass.

Ultralow fouling zwitterionic polymers grafted from surfaces covered with an initiator via an adhesive mussel mimetic linkage.

Nonfouling surfaces play a very important role for the development of biosensors,1 medical implants,2 and drug delivery vehicles.3 However, few materials and modification methods have been reported to improve the nonfouling properties of surfaces effectively and conveniently. Among these reported materials, zwitterionic polymers, with both positive and negative charges on the side chains, showed excellent nonfouling properties in our previous studies.4–7 Based on these studies, it was hypothesized that a nanometer-scale homogeneous mixture of balanced charge groups will present protein-resistant properties. Recently, this assumption has been proved on hydrogels via free radical polymerization,8 polymer thin films 9 via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and polymer thin films via self-assembly. 10, 11 The ratios of positively to negatively charged monomers need to be optimized to achieve 1:1 on surfaces for most of these cases.

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Fengbao Zhang

Papers

Ultra low fouling zwitterionic polymers with a biomimetic adhesive group

Functionalizable and ultra-low fouling zwitterionic surfaces via adhesive mussel mimetic linkages.

Ultralow fouling zwitterionic polymers grafted from surfaces covered with an initiator via an adhesive mussel mimetic linkage.

Nonfouling Polyampholytes from an Ion-pair Comonomer with Biomimetic Adhesive Groups