Film Thickness Dependence of Protein Adsorption from Blood Serum and Plasma onto Poly(sulfobetaine)-Grafted Surfaces

In this work, we investigate protein adsorption from single protein solutions and complex media such as 100% blood serum and plasma onto poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (polySBMA)-grafted surfaces via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) at varying film thicknesses. It is interesting to observe that protein adsorption exhibits a minimum at a medium film thickness. Results show that the surface with 62 nm polySBMA brushes presents the best nonfouling character in 100% blood serum and plasma although all of these surfaces are highly resistant to nonspecific protein adsorption from single fibrinogen and lysozyme solutions. Surface resistance to 100% blood serum or plasma is necessary for many applications from blood-contacting devices to drug delivery. This work provides a new in vitro evaluation standard for the application of biomaterials in vivo.