Issue 34, 2017

Anti-protein and anti-bacterial behavior of amphiphilic silicones

Abstract

Silicones with improved water-driven surface hydrophilicity and anti-biofouling behavior were achieved when bulk-modified with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-silane amphiphiles of varying siloxane tether length: α-(EtO)3Si-(CH2)2-oligodimethylsiloxanem-block-poly(ethylene oxide)8-OCH3 (m = 0, 4, 13, 17, 24, and 30). A PEO8-silane [α-(EtO)3Si-(CH2)3-PEO8-OCH3] served as a conventional PEO-silane control. To examine anti-biofouling behavior in the absence versus presence of water-driven surface restructuring, the amphiphiles and control were surface-grafted onto silicon wafers and used to bulk-modify a medical-grade silicone, respectively. While the surface-grafted PEO-control exhibited superior protein resistance, it failed to appreciably restructure to the surface–water interface of bulk-modified silicone and thus led to poor protein resistance. In contrast, the PEO-silane amphiphiles, while less protein-resistant when surface-grafted onto silicon wafers, rapidly and substantially restructured in bulk-modified silicone, exhibiting superior hydrophilicity and protein resistance. A reduction of biofilm for several strains of bacteria and a fungus was observed for silicones modified with PEO-silane amphiphiles. Longer siloxane tethers maintained surface restructuring and protein resistance while displaying the added benefit of increased transparency.

Graphical abstract: Anti-protein and anti-bacterial behavior of amphiphilic silicones

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Jūn. 2017
Accepted
12 Jūl. 2017
First published
18 Jūl. 2017

Polym. Chem., 2017,8, 5239-5251

Anti-protein and anti-bacterial behavior of amphiphilic silicones

M. L. Hawkins, S. S. Schott, B. Grigoryan, M. A. Rufin, B. K. D. Ngo, L. Vanderwal, S. J. Stafslien and M. A. Grunlan, Polym. Chem., 2017, 8, 5239 DOI: 10.1039/C7PY00944E

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