Tuning the Density of Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes on PET Fabrics by Aminolysis: Effect on Antifouling Performances.

Emanuela Lorusso,Wael Ali,Jochen S Gutmann,Michael Leniart,Beate Gebert,Markus Oberthür

doi:10.3390/polym12010006

Abstract

Here, we synthesize zwitterionic polymer brushes on polyester fabrics by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) after a prefunctionalization step involving an aminolysis reaction with ethylenediamine. Aminolysis is an easy method to achieve homogeneous distributions of functional groups on polyester fibers (PET) fabrics. Varying the polymerization time and the prefunctionalization conditions of the reaction, it is possible to tune the amount of water retained over the surface and study its effect on protein adhesion. This study revealed that the polymerization time plays a major role in preventing protein adhesion on the PET surface.

Highlights

Biofouling is a problem affecting the efficacy of a broad range of systems and applications
Fabricsofby of a chemical time and the polymerization time led to surfaces with distinct water retention behaviors that prefunctionalization involving aminolysis followed by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)
A variation of the aminolysisresulted reaction time and the polymerization time led to surfaces with distinct water retention behaviors that resulted from respectively a difference in the distribution and length of the polymer brushes on the polyester fibers (PET)

Summary

Introduction

Biofouling is a problem affecting the efficacy of a broad range of systems and applications. These include implants, biosensors, or textiles used in the medical sector, where the contamination by bacteria and microorganisms is a major cause of infections [1,2,3,4]. In the food industry and in the healthcare sector this problem is addressed by using strict hygiene standards, for several other applications, a limitation of the interactions with bacteria and fouling is not always achievable. Lubricant-infused surfaces have been found to reduce the lateral adhesion of all types of liquids and to limit bacteria and microorganisms surface interactions, such surfaces often involve the use of non-environmentally friendly compounds [7,8,9,10,11]. The interactions of the polymeric chain with water molecules inhibits the non-polar

Methods

Results

Conclusion