Advanced Functional Polymer Brushes in Complex Biological Fluids

Abstract

Spontaneous and undesirable adhesion of molecules to synthetic surfaces, i.e. (bio)fouling, represents a complex and persistent global issue in many fields including bioanalytical devices and biochip technologies. The aim of this project is to provide new fundamental discoveries on molecular mechanisms of bio-fouling”, to surfaces using ultra-low fouling functionalizable surfaces. Molecular models of fouling mechanisms will be explored based on the extensive study on complex relationships between artificial surface properties and complex real-world biological samples. In addition, surface-grafted functionalizable ultra-low fouling polymer brushes with tailored surface physicochemical properties will be combined with specific DNA nanostructured functional motifs to develop new methodologies for polymer surface probing and enhanced biosensing in complex media. This research will be examined using advanced experimental techniques such as SERS, SPR, high-resolution spinning disk confocal microscopy, iSCAT, or spectroscopic ellipsometry in liquid environments combined with theoretical pre