Amphiphilic poly(methacryloxyethyl sulfobetaine)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) blended polyvinyl chloride plastics: Study on the Relationship between molecular structure and antibiofouling properties

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.