Surface Fluorination Modification and Anti-Biofouling Study of a pHEMA Hydrogel

A poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) hydrogel film was prepared by bulk polymerization. Then, it was surface modified by perfluorooctanoyl chloride to improve the anti-biofouling properties. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDXS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses demonstrated that the uniform dense fluorinated layer had been successfully grafted onto pHEMA. The water contact angle (WCA) of the modified pHEMA film increased to 135 degrees, while the surface energy decreased to 13.32 mN/m. The protein and bacterial adhesion properties of the modified pHEMA were decreased significantly. The in vitro cytotoxicity showed that the modified pHEMA was noncytotoxic. Thus, the fluorinated modification on the material surface was a convenient and effective method to establish a hydrophobic and anti-biofouling surface.

Automated summary

In this study, a pHEMA hydrogel film was successfully modified with a fluorinated layer to improve its anti-biofouling properties. The modified pHEMA showed increased water contact angle and decreased surface energy, leading to significantly reduced protein and bacterial adhesion. The in vitro cytotoxicity assessment demonstrated that the modified pHEMA was noncytotoxic, highlighting the effectiveness of fluorinated surface modification in establishing a hydrophobic and anti-biofouling surface.