Developing stable biopolymer-based coatings for antifouling medical implants: simple »thiol-click« approach on polydimethylsiloxane Katja Kuzmič 1 , Matej Bračič a , Alenka Vesel b , Damjan Makuc c , Klementina Pušnik Črešnar a,d , Tamilselvan Mohan a,e a Laboratory for Characterization and Processing of Polymers, University of Maribor – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Maribor, Slovenia b Department of Surface Engineering, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia. c Slovenian NMR Centre, National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia d Faculty of Polymer Technology, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia e Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Biobased System (IBioSys), Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria Biofouling poses a significant challenge in the medical industry, especially for synthetic polymer-based implants and medical devices due to their hydrophobic nature. This promotes the attachment and growth of undesirable cells and proteins on the surfaces, making them ineffective. Surface coatings have been proposed as a potential solution to mitigate this problem [1] . Many coating materials, both synthetic and bio-based, have been developed based on their biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, the stability of these coatings on inert and hydrophobic surfaces remains a challenge [2] . This paper proposes a straightforward and effective method to develop stable biopolymer-based coatings on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces using a "thiol-click" approach. The approach involves functionalizing the PDMS surface with self-polymerized mussel-inspired polydopamine, which provides a hydrophilic surface for subsequent covalent coupling of thiolated chitosan derivatives. Two chitosan derivatives were investigated, and the resulting coating showed excellent stability and resistance to protein fouling, demonstrating its potential application in the development of medical devices. The study also emphasizes the need for surface functionalization of highly hydrophobic PDMS-based implants to achieve stable coatings and the potential of bio-based coatings as a promising solution to biofouling. References 1. X. Li, L. Sun, P. Zhang, &Y. Wang, Coatings , vol. 11, no. 3, p. 294, 2021 2. H. Zhang &M. Chiao, Journal of Medical and Biological Engineering , vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 143-155, 2015
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