Development of smart regenerative surface is a highly challenging but important task for many scientific and industrial applications. Specifically, very limited research efforts were made for surface regeneration between bio-adhesion and antifouling properties, because bioadhesion and antifouling are the two highly desirable but completely opposite properties of materials. Herein, we developed a salt-responsive polymer brushes of poly(3-(1-(4-vinylbenzyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-3-ium-3-yl) propane-1-sulfonate) (polyVBIPS), which can be switched reversibly and repeatedly between protein capture/release, surface frication/lubrication, and surface wettability in a controllable manner. PolyVBIPS brush has demonstrated its switch ability to resist both protein adsorption from 100% blood plasma/serum and bacteria attachment in multiple cycles. PolyVBIPS brush also exhibit a reversible surface wettability, which switches from ~40o to 25o between in PBS and in saturated NaCl solutions in multiple cycles. PolyVBIPS brushes, by adjusting salt concentrations and counterion types, can be continuously tuned from ultrahigh friction (μ ~100) to moderate lubrication (μ ~10−2), and further to superior lubrication (μ ~10-3). Overall, the salt-responsive behaviors of polyVBIPS brushes can be interpreted by the “anti-polyelectrolyte effect”, i.e. polyVBIPS brushes adopt a collapsed chain conformation at low ionic strengths to achieve surface adhesive and friction properties, but an extended chain conformation at high ionic strength to realize antifouling and lubrication properties. Hopefully polyVBIPS provides a simple, robust, and promising system for the fabrication of smart surfaces with biocompatiable, reliable, regenerative properties.

Salt-responsive polyzwitterionic surface regeneration with switchable fouling/antifouling and friction/lubrication properties

251st National Meeting (2016)

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