Synthesis of Thin Film, Nonfouling, Polyampholyte Hydrogels

Abstract: Zwitterions are molecules that possess both a negatively and positively charged region, but maintain an overall net charge of zero. Zwitterionic polymer hydrogels possess good hydrophilic and nonfouling properties. The nonfouling property means these materials greatly reduce the amount of nonspecific protein adsorption that can occur on the material. The nonfouling nature of zwitterionic polymers have made these materials a major research topic. Recently, other investigators have demonstrated that molecular changes to the structure of zwitterionic species greatly impact their nonfouling behavior, but the fundamental mechanisms are unknown. To facilitate very sensitive measurements, procedures for forming polymer hydrogels on gold were developed. After developing coating procedures for gold substrates, the procedure will be refined to form 25 nanometer or thinner hydrogels using a spin coater. This will allow for highly sensitive quantification of protein adsorption (ng/mm²) using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor in future work.