Characterization of Polymer Brush Membranes via HF Etch Liftoff Technique

Rational design of dual-functional surfaces on polypropylene with antifouling and antibacterial performances via a micropatterning strategy

The hydrophobicity and inertness of the polypropylene (PP) material surface usually lead to serious biofouling and bacterial infections, which hamper its potential application as a biomedical polymer. Many strategies have been developed to improve its antifouling or antibacterial properties, yet designing a surface to achieve both antifouling and antibacterial performances simultaneously remains a challenge. Herein, we construct a dual-function micropatterned PP surface with antifouling and antibacterial properties through plasma activation, photomask technology and ultraviolet light-induced graft polymerization. Based on the antifouling agent poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphate choline) (PMPC) and the antibacterial agent quaternized poly(N,N-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (QPDMAEMA), two different micropatterning structures have been successfully prepared: PP-PMPC-QPDMAEMA in which QPDMAEMA is the micropattern and PMPC is the coating polymer, and PP-QPDMAEMA-PMPC in which PMPC is the micropattern and QPDMAEMA is the coating polymer. The composition, elemental distribution and surface morphology of PP-PMPC-QPDMAEMA and PP-QPDMAEMA-PMPC have been thoroughly characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Compared with pristine PP, the two types of micropatterned PP films exhibit good surface hydrophilicity as characterized by water contact angle measurements. The results of anti-protein adsorption, platelet adhesion and antibacterial evaluation showed that PP-PMPC-QPDMAEMA and PP-QPDMAEMA-PMPC had good anti-protein adsorption properties, especially for lysozyme (Lyz). They can effectively prevent platelet adhesion, and the anti-platelet adhesion performance of PP-QPDMAEMA-PMPC is slightly better than that of the PP-PMPC-QPDMAEMA sample. The sterilization rate of S. aureus and E. coli is as high as 95% for the two types of micropatterned PP films. Due to the rational design of micropatterns on the PP surface, the two classes of dual-functional PP materials realize both the resistance of protein and platelet adhesion, and the killing of bacteria at the same time. We anticipate that this work could provide a design strategy for the construction of multifunctional biomedical polymer materials.

Fabrication of PMPC/PTM/PEGDA micropatterns onto polypropylene films behaving with dual functions of antifouling and antimicrobial activities

Polymer materials with high biocompatibility and versatile functions are urgently required in the biomedical field. The hydrophobic surface and inert traits of polymer materials usually encounter severe biofouling and bacterial infection which hinder the potential application of polymers as biomedical materials. Although many antifouling or antimicrobial coatings have been developed for modification of biomedical devices/implants, few can simultaneously fulfill the requirements for antimicrobial and antifouling activities. Herein, we constructed bifunctional micropatterns with antifouling and antimicrobial properties onto polypropylene (PP) films using argon plasma activation treatment, photomask technique and UV-initiated graft polymerization method. Different sizes of PMPC/PTM/PEGDA micropatterns were fabricated on PP films to yield patterned PP-PMPC/PTM/PEGDA as evidenced by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), where PMPC is poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) for enhancement of hydrophilicity and biocompatibility, PTM is poly(methacryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride) for contribution to antimicrobial activity and PEGDA is poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) as the crosslinker. The surface hydrophilicity of patterned PP-PMPC/PTM/PEGDA was characterized by the static water contact angle test. The results showed that the PP sample with a micropattern with the size of 5 μm exhibited the best hydrophilicity. For biological assays of patterned PP-PMPC/PTM/PEGDA, the micropattern size at 5 μm performed the best for both antiplatelet adhesion and antimicrobial activities. We anticipate that this work could provide a new method for building bifunctional biomedical materials to promote the application of PP in biomedical fields.

Polymer Brushes on Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Direct covalent functionalization of large-area single-layer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) with various polymer brushes under mild conditions is presented. The photopolymerization of vinyl monomers results in the formation of thick and homogeneous (micropatterned, gradient) polymer brushes covalently bound to hBN. The brush layer mechanically and chemically stabilizes the material and allows facile handling as well as long-term use in water splitting hydrogen evolution reactions.

Substrate-Independent Approach to Dense Cleavable Polymer Brushes by Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization

High grafting density polymer brushes are grown on an inimer coating bearing nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) inimers and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The inimer coating is cross-linked on the substrate to provide an initiator layer with needed stability during long exposure to organic solvents at moderate to high temperatures. Surface-initiated nitroxide-mediated polymerization (SI-NMP) is conducted to grow polystyrene (PS) brushes on the coating with a sacrificial layer designed to cleave the brushes. The cleaved brushes have larger molecular weights than the corresponding free polymers. The grafting density of the brushes is as high as 1.12 chains/nm² throughout the brush growth, which is among the densest PS brushes reported so far. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling are used to reveal the surface morphology and kinetics of the growth.

Stable polymer brushes with effectively varied grafting density synthesized from highly crosslinked random copolymer thin films

Crosslinkable epoxy copolymers enable achieving highly stable P(S-b-MMA) brushes with controlled grafting density for close examination of phase separation behaviors.

Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerization: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities, and Challenges in Surface and Interface Engineering with Polymer Brushes

The generation of polymer brushes by surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization (SI-CRP) techniques has become a powerful approach to tailor the chemical and physical properties of interfaces and has given rise to great advances in surface and interface engineering. Polymer brushes are defined as thin polymer films in which the individual polymer chains are tethered by one chain end to a solid interface. Significant advances have been made over the past years in the field of polymer brushes. This includes novel developments in SI-CRP, as well as the emergence of novel applications such as catalysis, electronics, nanomaterial synthesis and biosensing. Additionally, polymer brushes prepared via SI-CRP have been utilized to modify the surface of novel substrates such as natural fibers, polymer nanofibers, mesoporous materials, graphene, viruses and protein nanoparticles. The last years have also seen exciting advances in the chemical and physical characterization of polymer brushes, as well as an ever increasing set of computational and simulation tools that allow understanding and predictions of these surface-grafted polymer architectures. The aim of this contribution is to provide a comprehensive review that critically assesses recent advances in the field and highlights the opportunities and challenges for future work.

Mussel-Inspired Polymer Carpets: Direct Photografting of Polymer Brushes on Polydopamine Nanosheets for Controlled Cell Adhesion

2D mussel-inspired polydopamine (PDA) nanosheets are prepared and exploited as a functional surface for grafting various polymer brushes. The PDA nanosheet and its polymer-brush derivatives show lateral integrity and are robust; therefore, they can be detached from their substrates. Cell-adhesion tests show that the PDA nanosheet promotes cell growth and attachment, while a PDA-based poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate) carpet exhibits nonfouling behavior.

Ultrathin free-standing polymer membranes with chemically responsive luminescence via consecutive photopolymerizations

A facile and general strategy for the preparation of chemically responsive ultrathin free-standing polymer membranes is demonstrated via UV-induced photopolymerizations.

Molecular composition, grafting density and film area affect the swelling-induced Au-S bond breakage

In previous studies, we reported the first observation of the Au-S bond breakage induced mechanically by the swelling of the surface-tethered weak polyelectrolyte brushes in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), a phenomenon with broad applications in the fields of biosensors and functional surfaces. In this study, three factors, namely the molecular composition, grafting density and film area of the weak polyelectrolyte, carboxylated poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate-random-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(OEGMA-r-HEMA)), were studied systematically on how they affected the swelling-induced Au-S bond breakage (ABB). The results showed that, first, the swelling-induced ABB is applicable to a range of molecular compositions and grafting densities; but the critical thickness (Tcritical,dry) varied with both of the two factors. An analysis on the swelling ratio further revealed that the difference in the Tcritical,dry arose from the difference in the swelling ability. A film needed to swell to ∼250 nm to induce ABB regardless of its composition or structure, thus a higher swelling ratio would lead to a lower Tcritical,dry value. Then, the impact of the film area was studied in micrometer- and sub-micrometer-scale brush patterns, which showed that only partial, rather than complete ABB was induced in these microscopic films, resulting in buckling instead of film detaching. These results demonstrated that the ABB is suitable to be used in the design of biosensors, stimulus-responsive materials and mechanochemical devices. Although the >160 μm(2) required area for uniform ABB hinders the application of ABB in nanolithography, the irreversible buckling provides a facile method of generating rough surfaces.