Zwitterionic Polymers Exhibiting High Resistance to Nonspecific Protein Adsorption from Human Serum and Plasma

TLDR

The authors fabricated six polymer and SAM surface modifications via atom transfer radical polymerization and evaluated their resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption from human serum and plasma, finding the polymer surfaces superior to SAMs. Zwitterionic polymer surfaces, particularly CBMA‑based brushes, provide superior nonfouling performance compared to PEG, owing to higher packing density and steric repulsion, and also offer functional groups for protein immobilization, making them promising for diagnostics and drug delivery.

Abstract

This study examined six different polymer and self-assembled monolayer (SAM) surface modifications for their interactions with human serum and plasma. It was demonstrated that zwitterionic polymer surfaces are viable alternatives to more traditional surfaces based on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as nonfouling surfaces. All polymer surfaces were formed using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and they showed an increased resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption compared to SAMs. This improvement is due to an increase in the surface packing density of nonfouling groups on the surface, as well as a steric repulsion from the flexible polymer brush surfaces. The zwitterionic polymer surface based on carboxybetaine methacrylate (CBMA) also incorporates functional groups for protein immobilization in the nonfouling background, making it a strong candidate for many applications such as in diagnostics and drug delivery.