Protecting Material Surfaces with Concentrated Polymer Brushes

• Biomedical Applications
• Polymeric Materials
• Research Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials
• Women Researchers

Concentrated polymer brushes are a unique class of polymer coatings, where they exhibit excellent anti-biofouling properties, while minimizing protein adsorption and cellular interactions. Chiaki Yoshikawa has worked in this field over multiple decades, publishing in highly cited journals and generated multiple patents. Her research involves understanding the interactions between these coatings and biological organisms and exploring potential practical applications.

Biocompatible Surfaces Vital to Medical Applications

The surface of a material is constantly exposed to several environmental conditions, affecting its lifespan. Examples include material degradation, attachment of unwanted materials, or other physical damages−such as scratches or ultraviolet irradiation. Therefore, finding methods to protect the surface of materials can improve their use and lifespan.

When implanted within the human body, materials are exposed to biological tissue, blood, plasma, and other bodily fluids, all of which can damage the surface of the material. Proteins within the body start interacting with the surface, triggering a series of biological reactions−damaging and removing the material, leading to poor material-tissue integration. Concentrated polymer brush coatings can minimize adsorption of proteins, cells, and other biological materials, by forming a protective barrier against these threats, leading to better material integration (Fig. 1).

“These polymer brushes offer a promising solution, but applying and growing these brushes into a uniform and dense coating on any material surface is difficult,” Yoshikawa said. “The current challenge is for more precise polymerization, which requires multiple steps, such as introducing initiating groups. Additionally, some materials are inherently difficult to grow and attach these coatings, due to the material surface properties and/or shape, which limit its applicability. To address this issue, I developed new coating materials which can be easily applied onto surfaces, forming a concentrated polymer brush coating.”