Investigation of design parameters in generating antifouling and lubricating surfaces using hydrophilic polymer brushes

Long-term stability of hydrophilic surface coatings that prevent fouling, cell adhesion and present a lubricious interface for biomaterials has been widely investigated in recent years. As an alternative to the gold standard poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(2-oxazoline)-based coatings are promising due to their higher stability against oxidative degradation in comparison to PEG. In this study, we compare the antifouling and tribological properties of PEG and poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (PMOXA) brush structures as a function of structural design parameters such as grafting density, chain length, and the monomer solubility. Brush properties such as hydration (number of H₂O molecules per monomer), shear modulus, and serum adsorption as a function of design parameters were estimated using optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance/dissipation techniques. At high monomer surface densities, PMOXA showed approximately three times higher structurally associated H₂O molecules per monomer in comparison to PEG brushes, leading to stiffer PMOXA brushes. We found that the chain stiffening of PMOXA brushes lead to higher macroscopic coefficients of friction; however presented similar adsorbed serum mass (high antifouling properties) when compared to PEG brushes. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47659.