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Internal Architecture of Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes Regulates Nonfouling Properties
Author(s) -
Huang ChunJen,
Li Yuting,
Krause Jordan B.,
Brault Norman D.,
Jiang Shaoyi
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201100858
Subject(s) - polymer , materials science , side chain , swelling , polymer chemistry , copolymer , polymerization , solvent , chemical engineering , ellipsometry , composite material , thin film , chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , engineering
In this work, we study how film thickness and chain packing density affect the protein‐resistant properties of polymer brushes in complex media. Polymer brushes based on dual‐functional poly(carboxybetaine acrylamide) (pCB) were prepared via surface‐initiated photoiniferter‐mediated polymerization. By adjusting UV radiation time and solvent polarity, pCB films with different thicknesses can be achieved and characterized using an ellipsometer. The packing density of pCB polymer chains is directly related to the swelling ratio of swollen to collapsed film thicknesses. Results showed that the dry film thickness alone, used often in the literature, is not sufficient to correlate with nonfouling properties and the chain packing density must be considered for the design of nonfouling surface coatings.