Zwitterionic-Based Stainless Steel with Well-Defined Polysulfobetaine Brushes for General Bioadhesive Control

Stainless steels are widely used as orthopaedic and dental implant; however, bioadhesion in the case of thrombosis, inflammation, and infection is one of their major limitations. One way to tackle this problem is to graft the stainless steel surface with a zwitterionic polymer known for being anti-bioadhesive. Controlled atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA) grafted from biomedical grade stainless steel surface was employed in this study. The interactions of polySBMA-grafted surfaces with biomacromolecules were demonstrated in vitro by the adhesion tests of plasma protein, blood cells, human MG63 osteoblast- and HT1080 fibroblast-like cells in biological complex media to evaluate their bioadhesive properties. Anti-microbial effects were also assessed for two most ordinary seen clinical bacteria, i.e., Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Results showed that polySBMA-grafted surface exhibited evident bioadhesion resistance and conferring antibacterial efficacy. This work is also dedicated to deduce the effectiveness of polySBMA brushes' conformational structure on the prevention of bioadhesion. To this aim, the anti-bioadhesive effect of polySBMA brushes prepared by dopamine- and silane-surfaced immobilization method was evaluated. Results show that polySBMA grafted from immobilized polydopamine interfacial layers achieved better bioadhesion resistance, which could be causally related to their greater grafting coverage, flexible brush conformational structures, and greater hydration capabilities.