Simple, efficient and flexible method to create biocompatible surfaces

N. A. Alcantar, E. S. Aydil, J. N. Israelachvili

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

A monolayer of polyethylene glycol (PEG) attached to a surface can resist protein adhesion and biological attack, making such a surface biocompatible. We describe a method for grating short-chain PEG molecules onto amorphous silica surfaces. Amorphous silicon dioxide films are deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and activated by exposing the surface to water plasma. Then, a monolayer of thin PEG film is produced by reacting PEG with silanol (SiOH) groups on the activated silica to form a Si-O-C ester linkage. This method is flexible because silica can be easily deposited on various materials including metals and plastics by PECVD, and it is efficient because it involves a direct reaction between the PEG molecule and the amorphous silica film. We discuss the synthesis and characterization of silica and PEG films by attenuated total reflection spectroscopy, ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)619
Number of pages1
JournalPolymeric Materials Science and Engineering, Proceedings of the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering
Volume76
StatePublished - 1997
EventProceedings of the 1997 Spring ACS Meeting - San Francisco, CA, USA
Duration: Apr 13 1997Apr 17 1997

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