Ultra-low fouling and high antibody loading zwitterionic hydrogel coatings for sensing and detection in complex media

Ying Nien Chou, Fang Sun, Hsiang Chieh Hung, Priyesh Jain, Andrew Sinclair, Peng Zhang, Tao Bai, Yung Chang, Ten Chin Wen, Qiuming Yu, Shaoyi Jiang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

For surface-based diagnostic devices to achieve reliable biomarker detection in complex media such as blood, preventing nonspecific protein adsorption and incorporating high loading of biorecognition elements are paramount. In this work, a novel method to produce nonfouling zwitterionic hydrogel coatings was developed to achieve these goals. Poly(carboxybetaine acrylamide) (pCBAA) hydrogel thin films (CBHTFs) prepared with a carboxybetaine diacrylamide crosslinker (CBAAX) were coated on gold and silicon dioxide surfaces via a simple spin coating process. The thickness of CBHTFs could be precisely controlled between 15 and 150 nm by varying the crosslinker concentration, and the films demonstrated excellent long-term stability. Protein adsorption from undiluted human blood serum onto the CBHTFs was measured with surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Hydrogel thin films greater than 20 nm exhibited ultra-low fouling (<5 ng/cm2). In addition, the CBHTFs were capable of high antibody functionalization for specific biomarker detection without compromising their nonfouling performance. This strategy provides a facile method to modify SPR biosensor chips with an advanced nonfouling material, and can be potentially expanded to a variety of implantable medical devices and diagnostic biosensors. Statement of Significance In this work, we developed an approach to realize ultra-low fouling and high ligand loading with a highly-crosslinked, purely zwitterionic, carboxybetaine thin film hydrogel (CBHTF) coating platform. The CBHTF on a hydrophilic surface demonstrated long-term stability. By varying the crosslinker content in the spin-coated hydrogel solution, the thickness of CBHTFs could be precisely controlled. Optimized CBHTFs exhibited ultra-low nonspecific protein adsorption below 5 ng/cm2 measured by a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, and their 3D architecture allowed antibody loading to reach 693 ng/cm2. This strategy provides a facile method to modify SPR biosensor chips with an advanced nonfouling material, and can be potentially expanded to a variety of implantable medical devices and diagnostic biosensors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)31-37
Number of pages7
JournalActa Biomaterialia
Volume40
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Aug 1

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biotechnology
  • Biomaterials
  • Biochemistry
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Molecular Biology

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