Preparation of Nonfouling Zwitterionic Coatings by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition under Ambient Pressure

Nonspecific protein adsorption significantly impacts the performance of biomedical devices in both hemocompatibility and tissue compatibility. Polyzwitterionic coatings are a promising solution. However, conventional zwitterionic coatings always have to rely on sophisticated wet chemistry methods, leading to low controllability and high cost. In this work, zwitterionic coatings were prepared by nitrogen plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of precursors for 90 s under ambient pressure followed by hydrolysis. The results showed that the PECVD-coated thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), Tecoflex, effectively resists nonspecific protein adsorption, platelet adhesion, and bacterial adhesion without changing the mechanic properties of TPU. This approach simplified the zwitterionic coating process with highly controllability, showing a promising potential for the surface modification of biomedical devices.