Protein repellent hydrophilic grafts prepared by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization from polypropylene

Grafting of poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) and N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm) from UV-initiator modified polypropylene (PP) was performed by Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (SI-ATRP). The modification and hydrophilization of the PP substrates were confirmed with Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Water Contact Angle (WCA) measurements. Confocal fluorescence microscopy of modified and unmodified substrates immersed in labelled insulin aspart showed superior repulsion of this protein for the poly(PEGMA) grafts, due to the achieved architecture.