| AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces Division | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI-WeA |
| Session: | Microbes and Fouling at Surfaces |
| Presenter: | Axel Rosenhahn, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany |
| Authors: | A. Rosenhahn, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany J. Koc, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany S. Bauer, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany J. Finlay, Newcastle University A.S. Clare, Newcastle University E. Schoenemann, University of Potsdam A. Laschewsky, Unversity of Potsdam |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Zwitterionic polymers are promising ultra-low fouling coating materials. While their outstanding properties are undisputed, a precise understanding of how the molecular architecture leads to optimized polymer function is still missing. Here we compare the influence of different anionic groups using a range of self-assembled monolayers and compare it against a series of photocrosslinkeable zwitterionic polymers. In all cases, the intramolecular arrangement was varied in order to determine if the spacing between the oppositely charged moieties, the nature of the charged group, and the backbone affect their non-fouling properties. A comparison of self-assembled monolayers consisting of mixed, oppositely charged thiols and custom designed zwitterioinic thiol compounds showed that in particular sulfate groups showed promising properties and an horizontally adjacent arrangement was preferred. As approach towards polymeric coatings, zwitterionic methacrylates were co-polymerized with benzophenonemethacrylates to obtain a photocrosslinkable polymer. We applied the polymers by spin-coating and subsequent photocrosslinking. All coatings were characterized by AFM, IR, and XPS prior to biological testing and protein resistance was characterized by SPR. The antifouling activity against marine biofilm formers, algae, and invertebrate larvae was determined in laboratory assays. On the basis of the obtained data, design criteria for optimized zwitterionic components for fouling-release technologies will be discussed.