Polysaccharide-based self-healing platform coatings possessing antifouling capabilities

• Applicant: Dr. Thomas Elschner
• Subject Area: Preparatory and Physical Chemistry of Polymers ; Polymer Materials
• Term: from 2015 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 280147441

The project is focused on the design of multi-responsive coatings possessing self-healing and antifouling capabilities based on renewable resources (e. g. polysaccharides, amino acids/peptides). Polysaccharide derivatives with diene- as well as dienophile containing moieties (e. g. furoate/maleinimide) will be obtained by polymer analogous reactions and subsequently shaped into films and cross-linked by Diels-Alder Reactions. The intrinsic self-healing of the coatings will be proven by ATR-IR and UV spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as imaging techniques (AFM, SEM). The upper layer of the films will be treated with activating agents for post-modification in order to create self-healing platform coatings for multiple purposes. The attachment of amino acids and peptides to the surface will yield hydrophilic/zwitterionic layers with antifouling properties. The film thickness, packing/charge density, and uniformity of the layer may be tuned in order to study structure-property relationships. The molecular architecture follows the concept of hydrophilic polymer brushes as well as phosphorylcholine- and mixed charged monolayers. The modification of the surface can be proven by ATR-IR and UV spectroscopy, profilometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In order to evaluate the protein resistance and the hemocompatibility, the absorption of proteins (e.g. bovine serum albumin, fibrinogen) will be studied by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Furthermore, the interaction with cells will be investigated. Finally, relations between the structure of the amino acid/polymer brush and the properties of the surface will be concluded.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Slovenia
• Host: Professorin Dr. Karin Stana Kleinschek