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    Polymer Brush-Functionalized Chitosan Hydrogels as Antifouling Implant Coatings
    (Columbus, Ohio : American Chemical Society, 2017) Buzzacchera, Irene; Vorobii, Mariia; Kostina, Nina Yu; de Los Santos Pereira, Andres; Riedel, Tomáš; Bruns, Michael; Ogieglo, Wojciech; Möller, Martin; Wilson, Christopher J.; Rodriguez-Emmenegger, Cesar
    Implantable sensor devices require coatings that efficiently interface with the tissue environment to mediate biochemical analysis. In this regard, bioinspired polymer hydrogels offer an attractive and abundant source of coating materials. However, upon implantation these materials generally elicit inflammation and the foreign body reaction as a consequence of protein fouling on their surface and concomitant poor hemocompatibility. In this report we investigate a strategy to endow chitosan hydrogel coatings with antifouling properties by the grafting of polymer brushes in a "grafting-from" approach. Chitosan coatings were functionalized with polymer brushes of oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate using photoinduced single electron transfer living radical polymerization and the surfaces were thoroughly characterized by XPS, AFM, water contact angle goniometry, and in situ ellipsometry. The antifouling properties of these new bioinspired hydrogel-brush coatings were investigated by surface plasmon resonance. The influence of the modifications to the chitosan on hemocompatibility was assessed by contacting the surfaces with platelets and leukocytes. The coatings were hydrophilic and reached a thickness of up to 180 nm within 30 min of polymerization. The functionalization of the surface with polymer brushes significantly reduced the protein fouling and eliminated platelet activation and leukocyte adhesion. This methodology offers a facile route to functionalizing implantable sensor systems with antifouling coatings that improve hemocompatibility and pave the way for enhanced device integration in tissue.
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    Relevance of interactions between starch-based coatings and plum fruit surfaces: A physical-chemical analysis
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2019) Basiak, Ewelina; Geyer, Martin; Debeaufort, Frédéric; Lenart, Andrzej; Linke, Manfred
    In order to extend the shelf life of the fruit, improve appearance, and to keep all nutrition properties of the plum from diminishing, edible coatings comprised of wheat starch and wheat starch–whey protein isolate (in ratio 80/20) were created. Stand-alone films were produced to assess properties which helped to understand the phenomena occurring on the surface level of coated plums. The properties of coatings based on starch are similar to starch coatings containing oil because the natural epicuticular wax layer of plums merges with coating materials. Adding oil doubled the contact angle value and the dispersive component of the surface tension. The workings of adhesion and cohesion, spreading coefficient, water absorption, water content, and solubility in water of the films decreased. Similar processes were observed on the fruits’ surface. In appearance, the coating process is similar to polishing the plum surface for removing crystalline wax. The color parameters of coated fruits did not significantly change. Newly formed bonds or interactions established between starch, whey proteins, water, glycerol, and oil are displayed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. This work revealed how the interactions between the epicuticular wax on the fruit’s surface and the hydrocolloid-based coatings affect the efficiency of the coatings. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.