Atmospheric pulsed plasma copolymerization of acrylic monomers: Kinetics, chemistry, and applications

In this study, dimethylacrylamide (DMA) homopolymer and DMA/ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (DMA/EGDMA) copolymers are produced by an atmospheric pulsed plasma deposition technique. Such a mild deposition method is used to limit monomer fragmentations and favor cross-linked structures formed through the unsaturated carbon double bond polymerization. The kinetics of deposition, and the dependence of the chemical and physical properties of the films on the comonomer ratio are investigated by combining surface and volume-sensitive techniques. In addition, water-stable catechol-bearing terpolymer films are easily produced from a precursor mixture composed of dopamine methacrylamide dissolved in a 50 mol% DMA/EGDMA solution. Finally, it is demonstrated that the developed coatings can be exploited for efficient one-step bioconjugation reaction for potential biological applications.