Effects of Protein Interaction and Salt Charge Screening on Molecular Structure and Interfacial Hydration of Poly(Trimethylamine N-oxide) Brush
Abstract
Supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), our research group at the University of Michigan has extensively studied surface structures of polymer materials developed for marine antifouling and fouling release purposes, interfacial structures of water molecules on these polymer surfaces, and molecular interactions between biological molecules and such polymer materials.The research goal of this proposal is to understand the antifouling mechanism of a newly developed antifouling polymer, poly(trimethylamine N-oxide) (pTMAO) brush. TMAO is a widely studied protein stabilizing molecule, but its application for antifouling purpose has not been successfully explored in the past. Recently, it was demonstrated that pTMAO brushes exhibit excellent antifouling activity, but the detailed antifouling mechanism is unknown.Marine biofouling occurs in ocean. Seawater has a very high salt concentration. The first step for marine biofouling on a surface to happen is the interaction between the surface and adhesive proteins generated from marine organisms. The proposed research is aimed to elucidate the effects of salts and proteins on interfacial behavior of pTMAO and its surface hydration, providing in-depth understanding on the antifouling activity of pTMAO in the marine environment.A nonlinear optical spectroscopic technique, sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy, will be applied to investigate buried solid/liquid interfaces in situ in real time at the molecular level, including the pTMAO brush/water, pTMAO brush/salt solution, and pTMAbrush/protein solution interfaces. This research will examine effects of different salts in aqueous solutions and seawater, as well as interactions of various proteins including mussel adhesive proteins to better understand the antifouling activity of pTMAO in the marine environment.The proposed research will be carried out in collaboration with Prof. Shaoyi Jiang at the University of Washington. Prof. Jiang will provide TMAO brush samples. Our group has extensively collaborated with Prof. Jiang on various research projects supported by ONR and published many joint research articles. The knowledge obtained from this research will provide fundamental understanding on the antifouling mechanism of the new zwitterionic polymer, pTMAO, and aid in the design and development of marine antifouling coatings using pTMAO brushes with improved performance. The proposed research is important, innovative, and of great relevance to the US Navy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 25, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912171
Entities
People
- Zhan Chen
Organizations
- Board of Regents of the University of Michigan
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy