The advancement in material science and engineering technology has led to the development of antifouling (AF) coatings which are cheaper, durable, less toxic, and safe to the environment. The use of ...AF coatings containing tributyltin compounds was prohibited at the beginning of 2003, this necessitated the development of environmentally friendly coatings. The fouling release coating (FRC) lacks biocides and has low surface energy, low elastic modulus with smooth surface properties, hence a better release effect to fouling organisms. Several functional coatings have been recently developed based on fouling release (FR) technology to combat the effects of biofouling. Here, we provide a brief overview of innovative technologies and recent developments based on FRCs, including silicone, modified fluorinated polymer, cross-linked coatings, amphiphilic copolymer coating, hydrogel coatings, and biomimetic coatings. We also highlight the key issues and shortcomings of innovative technologies based on FRCs. This may give new insights into the future development of marine AF coatings.
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•Dihydrolipoic acid-modified sulfobetaine derived starch hydrogel coatings are fabricated.•Hydrogel coatings can resist cell and tissue adhesion, prevent thrombosis, and alleviate ...inflammation response in vivo.•Hydrogel coatings exhibit excellent long-term durability and stability.•Hydrogel coatings can selectively promote the adhesion, proliferation, and migration of HUVECs.
Zwitterionic polymers coating shows significant advantages in preventing thrombosis for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, their limited bio-functionality and low durability struggle to meet requirements from clinical applications. In this study, a dihydrolipoic acid-modified sulfobetaine-derived starch (SB-ST-D) hydrogel coating is developed for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) based blood-contacting devices. First, polydopamine (PDA) is deposited on the PET surface (PDA/PET). Then, SB-ST-D is covalently immobilized on the surface of the PDA/PET (SSD/PET) via Michael addition reaction and the hydrogel is formed by the disulfide bridge formation. The obtained SB-ST-D hydrogel coatings not only exhibit excellent biocompatibility, but also effectively resist non-specific protein adsorption, inhibit cell and platelet adhesion, prevent thrombosis, and alleviate inflammation response in vivo. Moreover, the SB-ST-D hydrogel coating can maintain good anti-fouling properties after 45 d of immersion in PBS, 7 d of PBS buffer shearing, and even under mechanical damage. To improve the specific adhesion capacity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), the REDV is introduced on the SB-ST-D coating surface via thiol–ene click reaction. Results suggest that the obtained coating can promote the adhesion, proliferation, and migration of HUVECs, and decrease the adhesion of human aortic smooth muscle cells simultaneously. Therefore, the prepared SB-ST-D hydrogel coatings with combined durable, antithrombotic, and bio-functional properties will be a milestone in the development of long-term blood-contacting devices.
Developing thin, highly stretchable coatings that inhibit the undesirable adhesion of biological substances on soft and high‐water‐content biomaterial surfaces is an area of significant interest. In ...this study, a stretchable antifouling coating named lubricant‐infused poly(1,3,5,7‐tetramethyl‐1,3,5,7‐tetravinyl cyclotetrasiloxane) (V4D4) is introduced interface with perfluoropolymer (L‐VIP). The stretchable adhesive‐perfluoropolymer bilayer comprises stretchable adhesive polymer (V4D4) and perfluoropolymer (1H,1H,2H,2H‐perfluorooctyl methacrylate (FOMA)). The bilayer exhibits a strong affinity with the lubricant, imparting exceptional antifouling and slippery properties. L‐VIP coating displays superior fouling resistance against plasma proteins related to foreign body reactions (FBR) and biofilm‐forming bacteria. The coating exhibits impressive elastic limits exceeding 200% strain and exceptional stability under repeated cyclic stretching (> 2000 cycles at 150% strain) while maintaining its antifouling properties. Furthermore, the coating presents dielectric performance under accelerated aging conditions at a temperature of 70° and constant voltage stress of 10 V s−1 for over 50 days. To assess the biocompatibility of the L‐VIP coating, a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments are conducted, confirming its non‐toxicity for biomedical applications. It is expected that the stretchable L‐VIP coating will enhance medical devices’ longevity and help prevent bacterial infections, the formation of biofilms, and the nonspecific adherence of biological substances after implantation.
The developed thin, highly stretchable coating inhibits undesirable adhesion of biological substances on soft and high‐water‐content biomaterial surfaces. The coating displays superior fouling resistance against plasma proteins related to foreign body reactions (FBR) and biofilm‐forming bacteria. The results from a series of mouse, and in vitro experiments validated its stretchability and fouling resistance, and robustness in a variety of conditions.
Developing the portable CRP detection technologies that are suitable for point-of-care (POC) and primary care management is of utmost importance, and advancing the electrochemical immunosensors hold ...promise for POC implementation. Nevertheless, non-specific adsorption of numerous interfering proteins in complex biological media contaminates immunosensors, thereby restricting the reliability in detection efficacy. In this study, a three-dimensional flower-leaf shape amyloid bovine serum albumin/gold nanoparticles/polyaniline (AL-BSA/AuNPs/PANI) coating on the surface of the electrode was developed, which demonstrated strong anti-adsorption properties against bovine serum albumin, plasma, and cells. The immunosensor exhibited a good linear relationship to CRP response, featuring a detection limit of 0.09 μg/mL, consistent with clinical reference range. In addition, the CRP immunosensor demonstrated excellent specificity in other inflammation-related proteins and commendable anti-interference performance for CRP detection in plasma and whole blood tests. Importantly, by combining the development of a USB flash disk-type portable electrochemical workstation with a reagent-free mode, the developed CRP electrochemical immunosensor delivered ideal results in clinical samples. The anti-fouling performance, sensitivity and specificity of the immunosensor, as well as its flexible test modes in clinical samples, provide important scientific basis for developing POC detection technologies of vital biomarkers in complex biological media.
The colonization of tiny marine organisms on ship's hull which are connected directly from seawater, is a costly issue. Biofouling contributes to enhanced hydrodynamic drag, which leads to higher ...consumption of fuel and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the environment-friendly solution is very necessary for anti-biofouling activity. For this purpose, we have synthesized biodegradable polyurethane (CL-PU) composed of ε-CL and 4,4′-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate) (H12MDI) and 1,4 butanediol (1,4 BD). The synthesized CL-PU was further modified with 4, 5-dicholoro-2-octyl-isothiazolone (DCOIT) and clay by mixing of the solution to make composites. Our study showed that CL-PU/DCOIT/clay composite degraded in the artificial seawater (ASW), enzymatic solution and seawater (through laboratory test) due to the contents of clay. Because the existence of clay reduced the size of the spherulite of polycaprolactone (PCL) in the composite, therefore remarkably improved the crystallinity as determined via the polarizing optical microscope (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The composite acted as carrier of antifoulant (DCOIT) and controlled their release rate. The anti-bacterial and anti-diatom experiments exhibited that the composite with DCOIT contents were effective in preventing the accretion of Escherichia coli (E.coli) (region inhibition 14 mm) and marine diatom Navicula incerta (82.5% reduction). The degradable CL-PU/DCOIT/clay composite will have tremendous durability and excellent anti-fouling activity for marine biofouling owning to sustainability and tunability without being toxic to aquatic biota.
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•Biodegradable composite synthesized by mixing of the solution method.•The clay reduced the crystallinity and spherulite size of the PCL in the composite.•The environmentally-friendly composite prevents the early stage of biofouling.
In this study, a high-performance anti-fouling coating based on poly adenine (polyAn) as well as a highly specific cluster of differentiation 20 (CD20) epitope mimetic peptide (CN14) were employed to ...synergistically construct a facile biosensor for the rapid and sensitive determination of rituximab in lymphoma patients' plasma. The well-designed and optimized polyAn coating displayed excellent stability, hydrophilicity, thanks to its intrinsic affinity with gold surface and thoroughly exposed hydrophilic phosphate groups. Moreover, the proposed strategy avoids the necessity to modify binding groups (e.g. thiol), making it more facile, repeatable and efficient. When dealing with complex clinical plasma samples, the polyAn coating demonstrated better anti-fouling performance and lower background signal in comparison with mercaptan and bovine serum albumin coatings. The dissociation constant (~60 nM) between CN14 and rituximab was measured by microscale thermophoresis and their binding mechanism was further explained using computer simulation. The constructed GE/CN14/polyA20 biosensor displayed satisfactory performance with detection limit of 35.26 ng/mL. Finally, the proposed biosensor was successfully applied for rapidly determining rituximab in lymphoma patients' plasma, and exhibited comparable accuracy to the commercial ELISA, but has advantages including a shorter detection time, wider detection range and lower cost. It's worth noting that the anti-fouling polyAn coating can be tailored according to the surface property of sensing interface and can be easily expanded to other gold electrode related biosensors.
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•A simple and effect strategy was developed for preparing anti-fouling DNA coating on gold electrode surface.•PolyA coating exhibits excellent stability and hydrophilicity.•An EIS biosensor was successfully constructed by using PolyA20 and CD20 epitope mimetic peptide.•The proposed biosensor can rapidly and accurately determine rituximab in lymphoma patients' plasma.
Microcrack damage repair and microbial contamination prevention are two major challenges for anti-corrosion coatings on the surfaces of underwater installations. In this study, water-triggered ...self-healing microcapsules were combined with low-surface-energy fluoropolymers to prepare a bifunctional anti-corrosion coating with underwater self-healing and bio-fouling properties. The results showed that the prepared microcapsules had good mechanical, thermal, and environmental stability, with an average diameter of 153 μm and an encapsulation rate of 66.7%. When the microcapsule content in the coating was 8 wt%, the microcapsule dispersion performance and healing barrier effect of the composite coating were optimal, and the repair efficiency reached 81.6%. Furthermore, compared with the coating without microcapsules or graft fluoropolymers (PFG), the sample denoted as PFG18/4/IPDI-MC/ER showed the largest surface water contact angle and had the best protein inhibition rate of 87% when using bovine hemoglobin to detect the protein adsorption concentration on the coating surface.
•An anticorrosive coating with underwater self-repairing and anti-fouling performance has been prepared.•The repairing efficiency of microcapsule with the content of 8 wt% in the composite coating reached 81.6%.•The protein inhibition rate of the composite coating detected by bovine hemoglobin reached 87%.
To determine how bacterial communities succeed after the initial attachment of the bacterial biofilm adhesion using 16S rDNA meta-barcoding in plates coated with copper-based anti-fouling (AF) and ...non-AF (control) coatings as well as ambient seawater, coated plates were submerged in a marine environment in situ. Alteromonas genovensis (Gammaproteobacteria) in AF coating and Pacificibacter sp. (Alphaproteobacteria) in the control plate were initially abundant. In the AF coating, the abundance of A. genovensis decreased rapidly, whereas that of genus Phaeobacter (Alphaproteobacteria), Serratia (Gammaproteobacteria) and Cupriavidus (Betaproteobacteria) increased. Bacterial community in the control plate had a strong connection to pathogenic Vibrio spp. associated with the growth of invertebrates. Therefore, in the in situ AF coating experiment, A. genovensis accumulation was initially and intensively increased, and the bacteria responded to chemical antagonism, induced the proliferation of specific biofilm bacteria and influenced the interactions and recruitment of additional bacterial communities.
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•A. genovensis exhibited intensive attachment to AF coating in the early stage.•P. marinus counts on the control plate were abundant in the early stage.•A selective habitat was provided by the A. genovensis biofilm.•The biofilm both stimulated and suppressed the growth of other bacteria.•The biofilm provided a habitat for potentially pathogenic bacteria.
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•Novel multi-arm star poly HEMAs containing bioactive inner core were prepared.•Suitability of these polymers as bio materials was assessed with E. coli and P. aeruginosa.•Coatings of ...these polymers on PET film effectively prevented the bio-fouling.•Also, these polymers were found to be potential anti-bacterial materials.
Multi-arm star polymers with controlled molecular architecture suitable to be used as biomaterials are rapidly developing area of research. Herein, G2 and G3 polyurethane dendrimers containing bio-active bis-indolyl building blocks were converted into corresponding multifunctional ATRP initiators via a single-step reaction and characterized thoroughly. Polymerization of 2-hydroxethyl methacrylate (HEMA) monomer for different time duration using these initiators and CuBr/2,2′-bpy ATRP system yielded star PHEMAs with molecular weight (Mn) in the range of 2.79 × 104 – 4.52 × 105 g mol−1; the poly dispersity indices were in the range of 1.16–1.49. Glass transition temperature of these star PHEMAs was found significantly low compared to the linear PHEMA. Contact angle measurements carried out on the surface of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film coated with these polymers confirmed that these polymers are more hydrophilic compared to the un-coated PET surface. The integrated anti-fouling and anti-bacterial properties of these polymer coatings were studied with two common pathogens namely E. coli and P. aeruginosa and found that the binding of both of these bacterial cells either in live or dead form was negligibly low in the polymer coated PET surface compared to un-coated films and also found that the percentage of live cells was low compared to dead cells.
