Extensive research towards development of anti-fouling coatings has been conducted in efforts to replace traditional toxic anti-fouling paints. Amphiphilic polymeric surfaces with complex morphologies and topologies in both the nano- and micro- regimes have demonstrated excellent anti-fouling performance. Additionally, zwitterionic polymeric coatings for anti-fouling applications have been used to generate surfaces that are both energetically and kinetically unfavorable for protein adsorption, due to strong binding of water molecules at the interface. Through a novel synthetic route, a polymeric surface has been designed to combine the properties of both amphiphilic and zwitterionic systems into a single surface. Poly(styrene-co-allyl phospholane), which contains hydrophobic styrene units and reactive phospholane units, is synthesized readily from commercially available polymers. This copolymer is further functionalized viareactive phospholane units which are subsequently modified into zwitterionic phosphorylcholine units through use of a sterically unhindered tertiary amine. The resultant polymeric system was covalently attached onto silanized glass with different crosslinking extents to form amphiphilic, zwitterionic functional crosslinked networks. The polymer surfaces were characterized with atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and static water contact angle. Non-specific protein adsorption studies were performed to test the anti-fouling performance against commercially relevant siloxane standards. The findings in this study show the potential of the amphiphilic, zwitterionic surfaces as a novel class of anti-fouling coatings for future marine applications.

Facile synthesis of novel amphiphilic, zwitterionic polymers for antifouling applications

247th National Meeting (2014)

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