(753a) Recent Advances in Highly Biocompatible Zwitterionic Materials

An important challenge in many biomedical applications is the prevention of unwanted nonspecific biomolecular and microorganism attachment on surfaces. Zwitterionic materials have emerged as a new class of biomaterials and have been demonstrated to highly resist nonspecific protein adsorption and microorganism attachment from complex media. In this talk, recent advances in the molecular understanding, design and development of zwitterionic materials will be discussed. Unlike industrial gold-standard poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), there exist diversified zwitterionic molecular structures to accommodate various properties and applications. Newly developed zwitterionic materials will be illustrated. In addition, the new applications of zwitterionic materials to implants, stem cell cultures, medical devices, and drug delivery carriers will also be discussed. With zwitterionic coatings, hydrogels or nanoparticles, new capabilities have been achieved, including no capsule formation upon subcutaneous implantation in mice up to one year, expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) without differentiation, no anti-coagulants needed for blood-contacting devices, and no antibodies generated against zwitterionic polymers conjugated to high immunogenic biologics.