Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854, United States.
Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology Program, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts 01854, United States.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Dec 8;13(48):58096-58103. doi: 10.1021/acsami.1c15981. Epub 2021 Nov 23.
Protein fouling on critical biointerfaces causes significant public health and clinical ramifications. Multiple strategies, including superhydrophobic (SHP) surfaces and coatings, have been explored to mitigate protein adsorption on solid surfaces. SHP materials with underwater air plastron (AP) layers hold great promise by physically reducing the contact area between a substrate and protein molecules. However, sustaining AP stability or lifetime is crucial in determining the durability and long-term applications of SHP materials. This work investigated the effect of protein on the AP stability using model SHP substrates, which were prepared from a mixture of silica nanoparticles and epoxy. The AP stability was determined using a submersion test with real-time visualization. The results showed that AP stability was significantly weakened by protein solutions compared to water, which could be attributed to the surface tension of protein solutions and protein adsorption on SHP substrates. The results were further examined to reveal the correlation between protein fouling and accelerated AP dissipation on SHP materials by confocal fluorescent imaging, surface energy measurement, and surface robustness modeling of the Cassie-Baxter to Wenzel transition. The study reveals fundamental protein adsorption mechanisms on SHP materials, which could guide future SHP material design to better mitigate protein fouling on critical biointerfaces.
蛋白质在关键生物界面上的污染会导致严重的公共卫生和临床后果。已经探索了多种策略，包括超疏水（SHP）表面和涂层，以减轻固体表面上蛋白质的吸附。具有水下空气垫（AP）层的 SHP 材料具有很大的应用前景，因为它们通过物理方式减少了基底与蛋白质分子之间的接触面积。然而，维持 AP 的稳定性或寿命对于确定 SHP 材料的耐用性和长期应用至关重要。本工作使用由二氧化硅纳米粒子和环氧树脂组成的混合物制备的模型 SHP 基底，研究了蛋白质对 AP 稳定性的影响。通过浸入测试和实时可视化来确定 AP 的稳定性。结果表明，与水相比，蛋白质溶液显著削弱了 AP 的稳定性，这可能归因于蛋白质溶液的表面张力和蛋白质在 SHP 基底上的吸附。进一步研究结果揭示了通过共焦荧光成像、表面能测量以及 Cassie-Baxter 到 Wenzel 转变的表面稳健性建模，蛋白质污染与 SHP 材料上 AP 耗散加速之间的相关性。该研究揭示了 SHP 材料上蛋白质吸附的基本机制，这可以指导未来的 SHP 材料设计，以更好地减轻关键生物界面上的蛋白质污染。
