Defining Design Rules for Protein Resistant Polymer Coatings for Biomedical Applications
Researchers have long sought for the perfect non-fouling surface material. Non-fouling surfaces have a great amount of applications in the biosciences, for example drug delivery and ship coatings to prevent drag. A promising material for developing these types of surfaces is a polymer called Polyethylene glycol (PEG), because of its exceptional anti-fouling properties. The main purpose of this study was to identify conditions under which PEG surface coatings repel proteins and to determine whether or not the protein adsorption to these surfaces was reversible. To do the protein adsorption measurements a Surface Plasmon Resonance instrument was used. The binding was monitored as a function of the polymer density on the surface, polymer molecular weight, protein charge, surface charge, and protein dimensions. The proteins that were used in the experiment were albumin and lysozyme due to their difference in dimensions and in charge. Complete reversibility was found in longer polymer chains with a molecular weight of 5000 and a equilibrium dissociation constant was calculated for 20% PEG 5000 surface coating. The data confirmed that polymer chain length and grafting density play a significant role in protein adsorption.
School:
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Department:
Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
Research Advisor:
Deborah Leckband
Department of Research Advisor:
Chemistry
Year of Publication:
2007