Zhaokang Hu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC and Joseph M. DeSimone, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
Interpenetrating networks of perfluoropolyethers (PFPE) and polyethyleneglycols (PEG) have been achieved to yield mechanically robust, optically transparent films over a wide range of compositions. Telechelic diols of these oligomers were transformed to a photocurable dimethacryloxy-form (DMA) and free radically cured at various composition ratios to yield free-standing films. Clear and colorless amphiphilic networks could be achieved when low molar mass versions of both the PFPE DMA (1 kg/mol) and the PEG DMA (550 g/mol) were used. Samples were characterized by a variety of techniques including dynamic mechanic thermal analysis (DMTA), which strongly suggests that a one phase material was achieved. By incorporating a threshold amount of PFPEs into PEG-based hydrogel networks, water swelling could be significantly reduced, which may offer a new strategy for a variety of medical device applications. Along these lines, strong inhibition of nonspecific protein adsorption was achieved with these amphiphilic network materials relative to an oligoethyleneglycol-based self-assembled monolayer (SAM) coated surface.