NONBIOFOULING SURFACES COVERED BY BIO-INSPIRED 2-METHACRYLOYLOXYETHYL PHOSPHORYLCHOLINE POLYMER BRUSH BY USE OF POLYMERIC PHOTOINIFERTER
Abstract
A versatile method for constructing nonbiofouling and micropatterned surfaces bearing brush type poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (MPC) on polymeric substrates using living radical polymerization with N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate moiety as a photoiniferter for microbiodevices was demonstrated. The polymeric photoiniferters comprised of 4-vinyl benzyl N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate (VBDC) and 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate (EHMA) were synthesized with variation of VBDC contents from 10% to 40% to easily tune the chain density of poly(MPC) grafted while the chain length was regulated by changing photoirradiation time. The characterizations of the poly(MPC)-modified surfaces were conducted by using attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ellipsometric measurements, along with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The nonspecific protein adsorption from single and binary solutions of bovine plasma fibrinogen and bovine serum albumin was greatly suppressed on moderate to high chain density, moderate chain length of poly(MPC) and on smooth surfaces. The modified surfaces excellently eliminate cell adhesion of fibroblast-like cell L929 as well. Further, micropatterned-nonbiofouling poly(MPC) brush surface could be constructed using photomask with high fidelity.