Rong-Chao Xue,Nan Hu,Rong-Xu Zhao,Ze-Zhong Lin,Li-Ping Yu,Bin Wang
The blending of amphiphilic copolymers with plastics is an important method for preparing antibiofouling medical plastics. However, enhancing the enrichment of amphiphilic copolymers on the plastic surface, thereby improving the antibiofouling performance of the plastics remain challenging tasks. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of amphphilic copolymers, denoted as PSB- b -nPCL. These copolymers possess similar chemical compositions but exhibit distinct topological structures. Antibiofouling flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films were prepared by blending PSB- b -nPCL with PVC. These films showed excellent mechanical and thermal properties. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, water contact angle and hydration capacity tests demonstrated that PSB- b -nPCL which bearing more PCL blocks were more prone to migrating to the film surface, thereby enhancing the film’s hydrophilicity. Furthermore, anti-protein adsorption, anti-bacterial and anti-platelet adhesion properties of the films were investigated. It was found that topological structure can obviously affect the antibiofouling performance of films. Specifically, films blended with PSB- b -nPCL containing more PCL blocks exhibited superior performance. The optimal blended film achieved a reduction of 96.4% in bovine albumin adsorption, 82% in platelet adhesion, and nearly complete inhibition of bacterial adhesion. We anticipate that the strategy presented in this work will pave a new path for the development of high performance antibiofouling plastics.
Wang Ping,Zhang Di,Zhou Yiyang,Li Yu,Fang Huagao,Wei Haibing,Ding Yunsheng
A novel biodegradable 1,2,3-triazolium-functionalized PEG- b -PCL copolymer (TAPEC) was synthesized by the “click” coupling of methoxypolyethylene glycol azide and α-propargyl-ω-hydroxyl-poly(ε-caprolactone), followed by the quaternization of the 1,2,3-triazole moiety with iodomethane. All the intermediates and TAPEC were characterized by 1 H NMR, FT-IR, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Taking advantage of the characteristics of ionic liquid and block copolymer, this ion-containing diblock copolymer is expected to be used as a novel compatibilizer in mixed biopolyester for regulating the interface and crystallization behaviors. Hence, the TAPEC was evaluated as a compatibilizer and an interface emulsifier in the blends of polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). Non-isothermal crystallization experimental results showed that the TAPEC with the higher amount of ε-caprolactone units induces a plasticization and nucleate effect that increased the crystallization ability of the PLA phase; meanwhile, in the PCL phase, the agminated ionic cluster acting as a nucleating agent significantly increased the crystalline of PCL.