Polydopamine (pDA), a biocompatible universal coating, can be used to effectively functionalize materials surfaces under mild reaction conditions. The major factors limiting its application are 1) poor stability caused by the weak non-covalent bond between the coating and the material surfaces and 2) unappealing oily dark color. In order to address the problems above, we reported a new method involving a monomer which could self-polymerize onto a broad range of inorganic and organic material surfaces (e.g., metal, metal oxide, silicon, glass and polymer). Growing of the coating started from the surface hydroxyl groups via Michael addition and crosslinking at room temperature. Hydrophobicity, roughness, film thickness, element content and functional groups of the treated surface were characterized by complimentary surface analysis. The reactive groups in the coatings were examined taking advantage of fluorescence labeling and sugar-lectin interactions. Further treatments offered a variety of ad-layers. Compared to pDA, stability was improved by the covalent bond between polymer and surfaces even under ultrasound (40 W for 5 min in ethanol) or in acidic solution. Rather than oily darkness, transparent to white film were obtained on the surface which were much more visually appealing. The material universality, ease in operation, mechanic stability and post-reactivity give this coating broad application prospect.

Development and characterization of a colorless universal coating with improved stability

ACS Fall 2021

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