Biofouling is generally undesirable for many applications. An overview of the medical, marine and industrial fields susceptible to fouling is presented. Two types of fouling include biofouling from organism colonization and inorganic fouling from non-living particles. Nature offers many solutions to control fouling through various physical and chemical control mechanisms. Examples include low drag, low adhesion, wettability (water repellency and attraction), microtexture, grooming, sloughing, various miscellaneous behaviours and chemical secretions. A survey of nature's flora and fauna was taken in order to discover new antifouling methods that could be mimicked for engineering applications. Antifouling methods currently employed, ranging from coatings to cleaning techniques, are described. New antifouling methods will presumably incorporate a combination of physical and chemical controls.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2011.0502

Biofouling: lessons from nature.

Developments and new applications of UV-induced surface graft polymerizations

Electrochemical biosensors for pathogen detection

Monothiol-terminated hyperbranched polyglycerols (HPGs) were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of glycidol from partially deprotonated 2,2‘-dihydroxyethane disulfide as the initiator and subsequent reduction of the disulfide group. Two molecular weights of HPG thiols were synthesized. The molecular weights of the polymers were determined by MALDI-TOF analysis, and the presence of thiol was verified by Ellman's assay. The self-assembly of HPG thiols on gold was studied and compared with that of linear poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) thiols utilizing various surface analysis techniques. Monothiol-functionalized HPGs readily adsorbed to a gold surface and formed highly uniform thin films on the surface. The graft density of the HPG layer decreased with an increase in the molecular weight of the polymer. The amount of polymer on the surface increased with increasing incubation concentration and saturated above 6 g/L polymer concentration. Generally, HPG thiols gave lower graft density compared to linear ...

Self-assembled monothiol-terminated hyperbranched polyglycerols on a gold surface: a comparative study on the structure, morphology, and protein adsorption characteristics with linear poly(ethylene glycol)s.

Non-specific adsorption (NSA) is a persistent problem that negatively affects biosensors, decreasing sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility. Passive and active removal methods exist to remedy this issue, by coating the surface or generating surface forces to shear away weakly adhered biomolecules, respectively. However, many surface coatings are not compatible or effective for sensing, and thus active removal methods have been developed to combat this phenomenon. This review aims to provide an overview of methods of NSA reduction in biosensing, focusing on the shift from passive methods to active methods in the past decade. Attention is focused on protein NSA, due to their common use in biosensing for biomarker diagnostics. To our knowledge, this is the first review to comprehensively discuss active NSA removal methods. Lastly, the challenges and future perspectives of NSA reduction in biosensing are discussed.

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/11/2488/pdf

Non-Specific Adsorption Reduction Methods in Biosensing.

Electric field and vibration-assisted nanomolecule desorption and anti-biofouling for biosensor applications

This paper presents for the first time an active protein desorption mechanism initiated by a MEMS vibrating membrane. Unlike conventional, passive biocompatible polymer coatings, active micromachined lead zircornate titanate (PZT) plate is used to generate an acoustic streaming force for minimizing the protein adsorption on a SiO2 surface. Preliminary in vitro testing showed that 57plusmn10% of adsorbed bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 47plusmn13% of IgG were effectively removed from a vibrating surface. A simulation study on the vibration-frequency spectrum indicates the resonant frequency at 274 kHz matches well with the experimental data.

Mu Chiao

Papers

Electric field and vibration-assisted nanomolecule desorption and anti-biofouling for biosensor applications

An Investigation on a Vibration-Based Active Protein Desorption Mechanism for Implantable MEMS-Based Biosensor Applications

Vibration-based Anti-Biofouling of Implants