The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Bacterial infection of medical devices is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections and poses serious clinical problems. To prevent such infection, it is essential to control bacterial adhesion as well as biofilm formation on material surfaces. In this study, we fabricated a dual-functional surface that inhibits the bacterial adhesion and induces contact-killing. Polymer brushes were grafted onto a polyurethane film surface via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. First, sulfobetaine methacrylate polymer brushes were introduced to impart antifouling properties, effectively suppressing bacterial and protein adhesion. Subsequently vanillin methacrylate was grafted as a second block brush layer to provide bactericidal activity. The surface-grafted block copolymers demonstrated excellent antifouling and bactericidal effects against bacteria. Moreover, the polymer brush layers remained stable for over 30 days and exhibited superior hemocompatibility.