Pre-Adsorption of Amphiphilic Polymers on Synthetic Surfaces for Biofouling Retardation

Polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), glass and stainless steel were exposed to aqueous solutions of a series amphiphilic polymers at room temperature, including N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM)-based polymers, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polypropylene oxide (PPO)-polyethylene oxide (PEO) block copolymers and PEO. Dynamic contact angle measurements of the material surfaces before and after the treatment indicate that only NIPAM-based polymers can adsorb on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. The surface morphologies of the materials before and after polymer adsorption were investigated by profilometry. Protein adsorption on the surfaces pre-adsorbed NIPAM-based polymers was investigated by dual polarisation interferometry (DPI) and profilometry using lysozyme as the model protein. The results obtained indicate that NIPAM-based polymers can significantly improve the biofouling resistance of synthetic surfaces.