Biomaterial Database

Poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) Brushes on High-κ Metal Oxide Dielectric Surfaces for Bioelectrical Environments. 2017

Daniel Y Joh, and Felicia McGuire, and Roozbeh Abedini-Nassab, and Joseph B Andrews, and Rohan K Achar, and Zackary Zimmers, and Darush Mozhdehi, and Rebecca Blair, and Faris Albarghouthi, and William Oles, and Jacob Richter, and Cassio M Fontes, and Angus M Hucknall, and Benjamin B Yellen, and Aaron D Franklin, and Ashutosh Chilkoti

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University , Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.

Advances in electronics and life sciences have generated interest in "lab-on-a-chip" systems utilizing complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry for low-power, portable, and cost-effective biosensing platforms. Here, we present a simple and reliable approach for coating "high-κ" metal oxide dielectric materials with "non-fouling" (protein- and cell-resistant) poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (POEGMA) polymer brushes as biointerfacial coatings to improve their relevance for biosensing applications utilizing advanced electronic components. By using a surface-initiated "grafting from" strategy, POEGMA films were reliably grown on each material, as confirmed by ellipsometric measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The electrical behavior of these POEGMA films was also studied to determine the potential impact on surrounding electronic devices, yielding information on relative permittivity and breakdown field for POEGMA in both dry and hydrated states. We show that the incorporation of POEGMA coatings significantly reduced levels of nonspecific protein adsorption compared to uncoated high-κ dielectric oxide surfaces as shown by protein resistance assays. These attributes, combined with the robust dielectric properties of POEGMA brushes on high-κ surfaces open the way to incorporate this protein and cell resistant polymer interface into CMOS devices for biomolecular detection in a complex liquid milieu.