Anti-Biofouling Polymers with Special Surface Wettability for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The use of anti-biofouling polymers has widespread potential for counteracting marine, medical, and industrial biofouling. The anti-biofouling action is usually related to the degree of surface wettability. This review is focusing on anti-biofouling polymers with special surface wettability, and it will provide a new perspective to promote the development of anti-biofouling polymers for biomedical applications. Firstly, current anti-biofouling strategies are discussed followed by a comprehensive review of anti-biofouling polymers with specific types of surface wettability, including superhydrophilicity, hydrophilicity, and hydrophobicity. We then summarize the applications of anti-biofouling polymers with specific surface wettability in typical biomedical fields both in vivo and in vitro, such as cardiology, ophthalmology, and nephrology. Finally, the challenges and directions of the development of anti-biofouling polymers with special surface wettability are discussed. It is helpful for future researchers to choose suitable anti-biofouling polymers with special surface wettability for specific biomedical applications.

Keywords: anti-biofouling; antifouling; hydrophilic; hydrophobic; superhydrophilic.

FIGURE 1

Surface colonization by a fouling organism. Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Rosenhahn et al., 2010). Copyright 2010, Royal Society of Chemistry.

FIGURE 2

Diagrams of the degree of WCA ( ${\theta }_{WCA}$ ) and water droplets on the four surface types in air. Reprinted with permission from Ref from Ref. (He et al., 2021). Copyright 2021, Elsevier B.V.

FIGURE 3

Antifouling strategies based on various super-phobic surfaces. Reprinted with permission from Ref. (He et al., 2021). Copyright 2021, Elsevier B.V.

FIGURE 4

The process of preparing anti-biofouling zwitterionic hydrogels (A). WCA on uncoated mesh (B) and coated superhydrophilic mesh (C). Fluorescence micrographs of FITC-BSA (D,E) and FITC-HSA (F,G) adsorption on uncoated (D,F) and coated structures (E,G), respectively. Merge of uncoated and coated materials after FITC-BSA adsorption (H), and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results (I). Fluorescence micrographs of cell adhesion test on uncoated mesh (J) and coated superhydrophilic mesh (K). Scale bar = 100 μm. Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Xu et al., 2017). Copyright 2018, IOP Publishing, Ltd.

FIGURE 5

S. epidermidis colony-forming units per cm² of PEUA (control), amidated, and -SO₃H group-containing polymers (A). SEM results showing the aggregates of bacterial on the PEUA surface (B) and the absence of aggregates on the PEUEA–SO₃H surface (C) after 24 h of exposure. Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Francolini et al., 2012). Copyright 2012, Elsevier B.V.

FIGURE 6

Static WCA on unmodified, LIPSS-, and MSs-modified SS, PDMS, and PU surfaces (A). Differences in water CA with different immersion times (B). Bacteria on the different surfaces (C, above). Bacterial contacts on the surfaces are shown in red, and fluorescence micrographs indicate bacterial attachment to different PDMS and PU surfaces (below). Numbers of attached bacteria in relation to topography (D). Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Siddiquie et al., 2020b). Copyright 2020, American Chemical Society.

FIGURE 7

Anti-biofouling behavior of L929 cells, whole blood, FITC-labeled BSA, and calcification experiments on pristine BHV treated with GLUT and the sample treated with anti-biofouling coating (PHIL). Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Lei et al., 2021).

FIGURE 8

Profiles of water droplets on PET-PA6 fabric (A) and PEGDA/PET-PA6 composite (B), and WCA results of the samples (C). SEM micrographs showing platelet adherence on the PET-PA6 fabric (D,E) and PEGDA/PET-PA6 composites (F,G). Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Guo et al., 2019). Copyright 2019, Elsevier B.V.

FIGURE 9

Fabrication process of hydrophilic PVA with an intermediate AL on PMMA IOL surface (A). Cell proliferation measured by CCK-8 assay (B) and proliferation at 1, 3, and 5 days pre- and post-modification (C). Fluorescent protein absorbance (D, left) and the fluorescence intensity (D, right) of FITC-BSA in different samples. Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Lan et al., 2021). Copyright 2021, Royal Society of Chemistry.

FIGURE 10

Fluorescence micrographs showing P. aeruginosa (A) and S. epidermidis (B) adsorption to partially modified PDMS. Quantification of adsorption on PDMS samples as a function of treatment and time (C). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measurements for adsorption of BSA (D), mucin (E), and lysozyme (F) on samples of PDMS, PDMS-O₂, and PDMS-SBSi. Adsorption of SRB-encapsulated liposomes on SBSi-patterned PDMS samples prepared by elastomeric stencil (G) and microchannels (H). Fluorescence intensities are indicated by red lines below the images. Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Yeh et al., 2014). Copyright 2014, American Chemical Society.

FIGURE 11

Synthesis of the PVP-b-PMMA-b-PVP block copolymer (A). WCA of the modified membranes (B). BSA adsorption (C). Activated partial thromboplastin time (D). SEM micrographs showing platelet adhesion (E, h, number of the adherent platelets on the membranes adsorbed from platelet-rich plasma estimated from the SEM pictures). Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Ran et al., 2011). Copyright 2011, Elsevier B.V.

FIGURE 12

Hemocompatibility of M0 and PLA/PLA−PHEMA membranes (M5, M10, M15, and M20). Adsorption of BSA to membranes (A). Plasma recalcification times for membranes (B). SEM micrograph (C) and the number (D) of adherent platelets on the membrane surfaces. Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Zhu et al., 2015). Copyright 2015, American Chemical Society.

FIGURE 13

Adsorbed fibrinogen (A) and BSA (B) on PU, PU/P, PUL and PUL/P. SEM micrograph showing cell morphologies on PU (C,D), PU/P (E,F), and PUL/P (G,H). Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Zheng et al., 2010). Copyright 2010, Elsevier B.V.

FIGURE 14

Fabrication process (A) of MI-dPG based coatings with different wettability characteristics and physical structures, MI-dPG (B), superhydrophilic NP (C), hydrophilic NP (D), superhydrophobic NP (E), superamphiphobic NP (F). Quantification of bacterial attachment and their corresponding micrographs (G). Reprinted with permission from Ref. (Li et al., 2019b). Copyright 2019, Royal Society of Chemistry.