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  4. The Structural Dispersity of Oligoethylene Glycol-Containing Polymer Brushes Determines Their Interfacial Properties
 
research article

The Structural Dispersity of Oligoethylene Glycol-Containing Polymer Brushes Determines Their Interfacial Properties

Pavon, Carlos
•
Ongaro, Alberto
•
Filipucci, Irene
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June 11, 2024
Journal Of The American Chemical Society

Ought to their bioinert properties and facile synthesis, poly[(oligoethylene glycol)methacrylate]s (POEGMAs) have been raised as attractive alternatives to poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) in an array of (bio)material applications, especially when they are applied as polymer brush coatings. However, commercially available OEG-methacrylate (macro)monomers feature a broad distribution of OEG lengths, thus generating structurally polydisperse POEGMAs when polymerized through reversible deactivation radical polymerization. Here, we demonstrate that the interfacial physicochemical properties of POEGMA brushes are significantly affected by their structural dispersity, i.e., the degree of heterogeneity in the length of side OEG segments. POEGMA brushes synthesized from discrete (macro)monomers obtained through chromatographic purification of commercial mixtures show increased hydration and reduced adhesion when compared to their structurally polydisperse analogues. The observed alteration of interfacial properties is directly linked to the presence of monodisperse OEG side chains, which hamper intramolecular and intermolecular hydrophobic interactions while simultaneously promoting the association of water molecules. These phenomena provide structurally homogeneous POEGMA brushes with a more lubricious and protein repellent character with respect to their heterogeneous counterparts. More generally, in contrast to what has been assumed until now, the properties of POEGMA brushes cannot be anticipated while ruling out the effect of dispersity by (macro)monomer feeds. Simultaneously, side chain dispersity of POEGMAs emerges as a critical parameter for determining the interfacial characteristics of brushes.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1021/jacs.4c05565
Web of Science ID

WOS:001245145600001

Author(s)
Pavon, Carlos
•
Ongaro, Alberto
•
Filipucci, Irene
•
Ramakrishna, Shivaprakash N.
•
Mattarei, Andrea
•
Isa, Lucio
•
Klok, Harm-Anton  
•
Lorandi, Francesca
•
Benetti, Edmondo M.
Date Issued

2024-06-11

Publisher

Amer Chemical Soc

Published in
Journal Of The American Chemical Society
Subjects

Physical Sciences

•

Protein

•

Methacrylate

•

Hydrogels

•

Adhesion

•

Resistance

•

Coatings

•

Chain

•

Films

•

Lcst

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
ISIC-GE  
LP  
FunderGrant Number

H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions

956544

European Union

Available on Infoscience
July 3, 2024
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/209036
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