Kinetic and Thermodynamic Control of Protein Adsorption

Control of nonspecific protein adsorption is very important for the design of biocompatible and biomimetic materials as well as drug carriers. Grafted polymer layers can be used to prevent protein adsorption. We have studied the molecular factors that determine the equilibrium and kinetic control of protein adsorption by grafted polymer layers. We find that polymers that are not attracted to the surface are very effective for kinetic control but not very good for equilibrium reduction of protein adsorption. Polymers with attractions to the surface show exactly the opposite behavior. The implications for molecular design of biocompatible materials also are discussed in this paper.