Bioinspired Dopamine and -Oxide-Based Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes for Fouling Resistance Surfaces.

Biofouling is a great challenge for engineering material in medical-, marine-, and pharmaceutical-related applications. In this study, a novel trimethylamine -oxide (TMAO)-analog monomer, 3-(2-methylacrylamido)-,-dimethylpropylamine -oxide (MADMPAO), was synthesized and applied for the grafting of poly(MADMPAO) (MPAO) brushes on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) chips by the combination of bio-inspired poly-dopamine (DA) and surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization technology. The result of ion adsorption exhibited that a sequential DA and MPAO arrangement from the chip surface had different characteristics from a simple DA layer. Ion adsorption on MPAO-grafted chips was greatly inhibited at low salt concentrations of 1 and 10 mmol/L due to strong surface hydration in the presence of charged N and O of zwitterionic MPAO brushes on the outer layer on the chip surface, well known as the "anti-polyelectrolyte" effect. During BSA adsorption, MPAO grafting also led to a marked decrease in frequency shift, indicating great inhibition of protein adsorption. It was attributed to weaker BSA-MPAO interaction. In this study, the Au@DA-4-MPAO chip with the highest coating concentration of DA kept stable dissipation in BSA adsorption, signifying that the chip had a good antifouling property. The research provided a novel monomer for zwitterionic polymer and demonstrated the potential of MPAO brushes in the development and modification of antifouling materials.