title: Influence of poly(ethylene oxide)-based copolymer on protein adsorption and bacterial adhesion on stainless steel: modulation by surface hydrophobicity.
abstract: The aim of the present work is to study the adhesion of Pseudomonas NCIMB 2021, a typical aerobic marine microorganism, on stainless steel (SS) substrate. More particularly, the potential effect on adhesion of adsorbed poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymer is investigated. Bacterial attachment experiments were carried out using a modified parallel plate flow chamber, allowing different surface treatments to be compared in a single experiment. The amount of adhering bacteria was determined via DAPI staining and fluorescence microscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to characterize the surface chemical composition of SS and hydrophobized SS before and after PEO-PPO-PEO adsorption. The adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA), a model protein, was investigated to test the resistance of PEO-PPO-PEO layers to protein adsorption. The results show that BSA adsorption and Pseudomonas 2021 adhesion are significantly reduced on hydrophobized SS conditioned with PEO-PPO-PEO. Although PEO-PPO-PEO is also found to adsorb on SS, it does not prevent BSA adsorption nor bacterial adhesion, which is attributed to different PEO-PPO-PEO adlayer structures on hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. The obtained results open the way to a new strategy to reduce biofouling on metal oxide surfaces using PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymer.
authors.affiliation: Surfaces Group (SURF), Bio- and Soft Matter (BSMA), Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences (IMCN), Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 1 bte. L7.04.01, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Electronic address: yi.yang@uclouvain.be.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Surfaces Group (SURF), Bio- and Soft Matter (BSMA), Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences (IMCN), Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 1 bte. L7.04.01, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Electronic address: paul.rouxhet@uclouvain.be.
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Rouxhet
authors.affiliation: Surfaces Group (SURF), Bio- and Soft Matter (BSMA), Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences (IMCN), Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 1 bte. L7.04.01, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Electronic address: dorota.chudziak@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dorota
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chudziak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Research Centre of Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pusztaszeri út 59-67, 1025 Budapest, Hungary; Institute of Media Technology and Light Industry, Óbuda University, Doberdó út 6, 1034 Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: telegdi@chemres.hu.
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Telegdi
authors.affiliation: Surfaces Group (SURF), Bio- and Soft Matter (BSMA), Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences (IMCN), Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, 1 bte. L7.04.01, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Electronic address: christine.dupont@uclouvain.be.
authors.forename: Christine C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Dupont-Gillain
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D002417:Cattle; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D011409:Propylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000502:physiology*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: C116176:PEO-PPO-PEO; D011409:Propylene Glycols; D013193:Stainless Steel; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
keywords: Bacterial adhesion; Pluronic; Pseudomonas NCIMB 2021; Surface hydrophobicity; XPS