Protein Adsorption and Bacterial Adhesion Resistance of Cross-linked Copolymer Hydrogels Based on Poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) and Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)

Abstract

Herein, the preparation of the cross-linked copolymer hydrogels composed of various weight ratios of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) monomers employing free-radical polymerization was reported. The integration of the MPC monomer into HEMA-based hydrogels showed good transmittance (>90%) and enhanced the water content retention (79–202%) relative to those of pure HEMA-based hydrogel. Notably, the MPC-containing hydrogels (MPC-H) exhibited the improved anti-biofouling properties due to the formation of a compact hydration layer produced by the biomimetic MPC units at the hydrogel surface. MPC-H exhibited a decrease in the bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme adsorption of approximately 40–70% and 44–65%, respectively, relative to those of control hydrogel without MPC monomer. The results presented herein demonstrate the potential of expending biocompatible monomers such as HEMA and MPC to efficiently generate a biomaterial that possesses both bio-membrane mimicking character and protein and bacterial resistant properties for various industrial and biomedical applications.