ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Functional polymer thin films designed for antifouling materials and biosensors

Chao Zhao, Ling-Yan Li, Ming-Ming Guo, and Jie Zheng

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA

E-mail: zhengj@uakron.edu

Abstract: Polymer thin films offer a versatile and ubiquitous platform for a wide variety of real-world applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology, catalysis, photovoltaic devices, and energy conversion and storage. Depending on the chemical composition of the polymers and the associated microenvironment, the physicochemical properties (biocompatibility, stability, wettability, adhesion, morphology, surface free energy, and others) of polymer films can be tuned for a specific application through precisely controlled surface synthesis and the incorporation of desirable and responsive functional groups. In this short review, we first summarise the methods most commonly used for the fabrication of polymer thin films. Then we discuss how these polymer thin films can be used in a selection of biomedical applications in antifouling materials and biosensors. Some directions for the rational design of polymer thin films to achieve a specific function or application are also provided.

Keywords: polymer thin film – antifouling – biosensor – biomaterials

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-012-0147-1

Chemical Papers 66 (5) 323–339 (2012)