Fast preparation of biopassive nonfouling coatings on cellulose

The microbial infection as a result of biofilm formation is a serious problem in various fields of application in the paper industry including fouling of filters in air conditioning systems, wallpaper, medical and food packaging as well as ancient documents. In this study, we document a highly nonfouling surface coating formed by a functional copolymer consisting of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, as a zwitterionic and cell repellent component, and 4-benzophenyl methacrylate, acting as an anchor group for a fast UV-induced persistent covalent attachment on thin cellulose model films deposited on silicon wafers. The grafting process, studied by UV–Vis spectroscopy, is much faster in comparison with common grafting-to techniques. The obtained sustainable and nonleaching surface coatings were analyzed by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, spectroscopic in situ ellipsometry, and atomic force microscopy. Incubation of the modified cellulose surfaces with either Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis or Saccharomyces cerevisiae demonstrates that the zwitterionic polymer functionalization has substantial nonfouling capacity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as the yeast fungus.