Bridging the gap: Polymer materials with controlled architecture and precise functionalization to overcome biofouling challenges for biosensing, drug delivery, and bioseparation

Polymers have played a crucial role in nano and macroscale biomaterials as a component in surface coatings, films, nanoparticles, and hydrogels due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, large monomer libraries, and diverse architectures and morphologies. They have therefore been incorporated into biomaterials for numerous applications. Reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) methods have facilitated the integration of synthetic polymers into biological systems by enabling direct polymerization in biological media, including aqueous systems, without the need for rigorous deoxygenation procedures and with gentle initiation methods. Furthermore, advances in characterization methods have led to a deeper understanding of the fouling of polymer materials. Various microscopic and quantitative techniques are available to discern both the extent of fouling and characteristics of polymers that affect their antifouling performance. This review provides a summary of RDRP developments over the past decade, with a focus on methods that bridge the divide between synthetic polymers and biological systems. Additionally, it includes an overview of biofouling characterization methods and their usage in furthering the development of next-generation polymer biomaterials. Recent examples were presented that highlight the benefits of synthetic polymers for the future of biomaterials, with a focus was on their use in sensing, imaging, separations, and antifouling. [Display omitted]