Improved immobilization of biomolecules to quinone-rich polydopamine for efficient surface functionalization.

Polydopamine (PDA), a bio-inspired polymer, has been very attractive for diverse functional applications by immobilizing biomolecules. In this work, a novel approach of using PDA for improved biomolecule immobilization was developed. A thin PDA layer was strategically coated onto 316L stainless steel and thermally treated at 150°C (PDA-Th150). Subsequently, amino-terminated polyethylene glycol (mPEG-NH2) or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was immobilized onto PDA and PDA-Th150 surface. The results of attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed higher coverage of quinine on PDA-Th150 surface. The functionalized PDA-Th150 significantly improved its ability of immobilizing mPEG-NH2 or VEGF, as shown by platelet adhesion test and endothelial cell proliferation experiments. This novel approach may also be used for efficient immobilization of biomolecules on different metal devices. Published by Elsevier B.V.