Abstract
Biofouling and biofilm formation on implant surfaces are serious issues that more than often lead to inflammatory reactions and the necessity of lengthy post-operation treatments or the removal of the implant, thus entailing a protracted healing process. This issue may be tackled with a biocompatible polymeric coating that at the same time prevents biofouling. In this work, oxygen plasma-activated silanized titanium substrates are coated with poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate), a zwitterionic antibiofouling polymer, using photopolymerization. The characterization of polymer films includes FT-IR, AFM, and adhesion strength measurements, where adhesion strength is analyzed using a cylindrical flat punch indenter and water contact angle (WCA) measurements. Both cytotoxicity analysis with primary human fibroblasts and fluorescence microscopy with fibroblasts and plaque bacteria are also performed is this work, with each procedure including seeding on coated and control surfaces. The film morphology obtained by the AFM shows a fine structure akin to nanoropes. The coatings can resist ultrasonic and sterilization treatments. The adhesion strength properties substantially increase when the films are soaked in 0.51 M of NaCl prior to testing when compared to deionized water. The coatings are superhydrophilic with a WCA of 10° that increases to 15° after dry aging. The viability of fibroblasts in the presence of coated substrates is comparable to that of bare titanium. When in direct contact with fibroblasts or bacteria, marginal adhesion for both species occurs on coating imperfections. Because photopolymerization can easily be adapted to surface patterning, smart devices that promote both osseointegration (in non-coated areas) and prevent cell overgrowth and biofilm formation (in coated areas) demonstrate practical potential.
Highlights
Antibiofouling coatings based on polymer brushes are of paramount importance in various biomedical and biotechnological applications
The characterization of specific chemical bonds within molecules located on the surfaces of bare, plasma-activated, primed, and polySBMA coated samples was performed by means of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in the range of 4000–400 cm−1
A photografting method has been used to process a zwitterionic polymer polysulfobetaine on O2 plasma-activated and methacryl silane-primed titanium substrates using an aqueous solution of the monomer and initiator
Summary
Antibiofouling coatings based on polymer brushes are of paramount importance in various biomedical and biotechnological applications They afford an environmentally benign and sustainable way to preventing the adhesion of proteins and different cell types [1,2,3]. Among the plethora of materials available, zwitterionic brushes are the most promising as most of them combine biocompatibility with protein and cell repellent properties. They can be used with various substrates, including metals, ceramics, and polymers, using well-known grafting techniques [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Steric effects and surface neutrality that precludes ion exchange seem to relate to the main factors inhibiting protein adsorption [3]
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