A New Class of Zwitterionic Polymers Featuring Carbon-Centered Anions

In the domain of polymer and materials chemistry, polymers that incorporate both anionic and cationic groups within their structures─designated as polybetaines─occupy a prominent position due to their wide range of applications across various fields. A persistent challenge in polybetaine design has been the limited availability of chemical units, particularly for anionic moieties. Conventional polybetaines generally feature carboxylate, sulfonate, phosphate, or sulfonimide as counteranions. In this study, we present a approach that utilizes a naked carbanion as counteranions in polybetaines and preliminarily unveiled their antifouling properties against human whole blood.