Synthesis and characterisation of a mussel-inspired hydrogel film coating for biosensors

Millican, Jonathan M.; Bittrich, Eva; Caspari, Anja; Pöschel, Kathrin; Drechsler, Astrid; Freudenberg, Uwe; Ryan, Timothy G.; Thompson, Richard L.; Pospiech, Doris; Hutchings, Lian R.

Abstract

Mussel-inspired, catechol-containing monomers are being increasingly utilised to design versatile, adhesive, functional copolymers. This work reports the synthesis and detailed characterisation of a novel terpolymer comprising dopamine methacrylamide (DMA), in order to produce surface coatings capable of acting as biosensors for, e.g., toxins. DMA is copolymerised with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) using free radical polymerisation. The copolymers are subsequently deposited as a thin film using spin-coating. It is demonstrated that a terpolymer comprising HEMA, GMA and DMA can immobilise an IgG antibody on the film surface. The terpolymer therefore has the potential to be used as a coating in biosensing devices. It is also demonstrated that the presence of DMA impacts the copolymer properties. In-situ ellipsometry is used to confirm the important role of the catechol group on copolymer adhesion and significant desorption was observed in the absence of DMA.

Citation

Millican, J. M., Bittrich, E., Caspari, A., Pöschel, K., Drechsler, A., Freudenberg, U., Ryan, T. G., Thompson, R. L., Pospiech, D., & Hutchings, L. R. (2021). Synthesis and characterisation of a mussel-inspired hydrogel film coating for biosensors. European Polymer Journal, 153, Article 110503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2021.110503

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 3, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 6, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Deposit Date: May 19, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 6, 2023
• Journal: European Polymer Journal
• Print ISSN: 0014-3057
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-1945
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 153
• Article Number: 110503
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2021.110503
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1242389