Resistance to Long-Term Bacterial Biofilm Formation Based on Hydrolysis-Induced Zwitterion Material with Biodegradable and Self-Healing Properties

Long-term resistance of biomaterials to the bacterial biofilm formation without antibiotic or biocide is highly demanded for biomedical applications. In this work, a novel biodegradable biomaterial with excellent capability to prevent long-term bacterial biofilm formation is prepared by the following two steps. Ethylcarboxybetaine ester analogue methacrylate (ECBEMA), poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate (PEGMA), and 3-methacryloxypropyletris(trimethylsiloxy)silane (TRIS) were copolymerized to obtain p(ECBEMA-PEGMA-TRIS) (PEPT). Then, PEPT was cross-linked by isocyanate-terminated polylactic acid (IPDI-PLA-IPDI) to obtain the final PEPTx-PLAy (x and y are the number-average molecular weights (Mn) of PEPT and PLA, respectively) with optimal mechanical strength and adjustable surface regeneration rate. Static contact angle measurement, protein adsorption measurement, and attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) results show that the PEPT19800-PLA800 film surface can generate a zwitterionic layer to resist nonspecific protein adsorption after surface hydrolysis. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) results indicates that the PEPT19800-PLA800 film can undergo gradual degradation of the surface layer at the lowest swelling rate. Particularly, this material can efficiently resist the bacterial biofilm formation of both Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria over 14 and 6 days, respectively. Moreover, the material also shows an ideal self-healing feature to adapt to harsh conditions. Thus, this nonfouling material shows great potential in biomedical applications and marine antifouling coatings without antibiotic or biocide.