Surface‐Initiated Grafting of Dendritic Polyglycerol from Mussel‐Inspired Adhesion‐Layers for the Creation of Cell‐Repelling Coatings

Biofouling is a major challenge in the application of textiles, biosensors, and biomedical implants. In the current work, a straightforward method for the solvent‐free polymerization of antifouling dendritic polyglycerol (dPG) from mussel‐inspired dendritic polyglycerol (MI‐dPG) coatings on hydrophilic titanium dioxide (TiO2) and hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is reported. Surface characterization is performed by static water contact angle (CA) measurements, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Significant lower CA values are obtained after dPG grafting from MI‐dPG‐coated TiO2 and MI‐dPG coated PDMS. Furthermore, XPS shows a time‐dependent increase of the CO bond content upon dPG grafting from MI‐dPG‐coated TiO2 and MI‐dPG‐coated PDMS. Analysis of the surface morphology by SEM shows a clear time‐dependent increase in the surface roughness upon dPG grafting from MI‐dPG‐coated TiO2 and MI‐dPG‐coated PDMS. When the viability of two adhesive cell types is studied via LIVE/DEAD staining, a strong reduction in the cell density is observed after the dPG grafting from MI‐dPG‐coated TiO2 and MI‐dPG‐coated PDMS (a decrease of >95% in all cases). The combined results show that biocompatible but highly cell‐repelling surfaces are efficiently constructed via the grafting of dPG from MI‐dPG‐coated TiO2 and MI‐dPG‐coated PDMS. The current work utilizes mussel‐inspired adhesive layers for the grafting of antifouling dendritic polyglycerol from hydrophilic titanium dioxide and hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane substrates. The successful grafting of dendritic polyglycerol is shown via static water contact angle measurements, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Highly biocompatible cell‐repelling surfaces are obtained after the grafting of dendritic polyglycerol from titanium dioxide and polydimethylsiloxane.