Synthesis of zwitterionic copolymer containing sulfobetaine and catechol for antibacterial application

Abstract

• A catechol zwitterionic copolymer was handily prepared by PET-RAFT polymerization. • Polymer grafted surfaces were readily fabricated via solution deposition method. • Incorporation of catechol rendered copolymer excellent antibacterial potency. Catechol-modified zwitterionic polymers have been successfully applied for functional modification of surfaces. However, catechol derivatives synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) involve complicated procedures and harsh conditions. In this study, a random copolymer P(SBMA- co -DA) (PSD) was prepared from sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) and N-3,4-dihydroxybenzenethyl methacrylamide (DA) by photo-induced electron transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization technique. Staphylococcus aureus adhesion assay showed that PSD possessed similarly powerful antibacterial performance at high concentration as compared to dopamine-modified poloxamer 407, while PSBMA (PSB) exhibited no obvious antibacterial potency. We believe that the facile method will be beneficial to synthesis of catechol-containing polymers for different applications.