Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Vol.33, No.17, 1466-1473, 2012
Fabricating pH-Stable and Swellable Very Thin Hyperbranched Poly(ethylene imine)-Oligosaccharide Films Fabricated Without Precoating: First View on Protein Adsorption
For using successful (ultra)thin dendritic macromolecule films in (bio)sensing and microfluidic devices and for obtaining reproducible film properties, alteration effects arising from precoatings have to be avoided. Here, oligosaccharide-modified hyperbranched poly(ethylene imine)s (PEI-OS) were used to fabricate very thin PEI-OS films (1520 nm in dry state), cross-linked with citric acid under condensation, and vacuum condition. However, no reactive precoating is necessary to obtain stable films, which allows very simple film preparation and avoids alteration of the PEIS-OS film properties arising from precoating. Several methods [(in situ) ellipsometry, AFM, XPS, (in situ) ATR-IR, streaming potential measurements] were applied to characterize homogeneity, surface morphology, and stability of these PEI-OS films between pH 2 and pH 10, but also the low protein adsorption behavior.
Keywords:dendritic glycopolymer;in situ ellipsometry;poly(ethylene imine);protein adsorption;thin film technology