Just Antimicrobial is not Enough: Toward Bifunctional Polymer Surfaces with Dual Antimicrobial and Protein-Repellent Functionality

Antimicrobial polymer surfaces often fail because debris of killed bacteria accumulates on the coating, which is then covered and deactivated. To overcome this deficiency, two synthetic approaches are developed that combine polycationic antimicrobial polymers with polyzwitterionic protein‐repellent polymers. In the first approach, these polymers are site‐selectively immobilized on surfaces with a chemical contrast, which is obtained by colloidal lithography. In the second approach, a thin corona of polyzwitterions is grafted onto a carpet of polycationic antimicrobial polymers. Results recently obtained in our laboratory suggest that precisely controlling the surface architecture and geometry can lead to the desired dual functionality. Bifunctional antimicrobial and protein‐repellent polymer surfaces can prove beneficial for the prevention of biofilm formation, particularly in the medical field. To obtain the desired dual functionality, the antimicrobial and the protein‐repellent moiety of the polymer surfaces need to be precisely balanced. In this article, two possible surface architectures are described.