(19a) Recent Advances in Zwitterionic Materials for Biomedical and Engineering Applications

An important challenge in many applications is the prevention of unwanted nonspecific biomolecular and macromolecular attachment on surfaces from medical implants and drug delivery carriers to ship hulls and desalination membranes. We have demonstrated that zwitterionic materials and surfaces are highly resistant to nonspecific protein adsorption and microorganism attachment from complex media. Typical zwitterionic materials include poly(carboxybetaine), poly(sulfobetaine), poly(trimethylamine N-oxide), and glutamic acid (E) and lysine (K)-containing poly(peptides). Unlike poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), there exist diversified zwitterionic molecular structures to accommodate various properties and applications. Furthermore, unlike amphiphilic PEG, zwitterionic materials are super-hydrophilic.

In this talk, I will discuss the application of zwitterionic materials to implants, stem cell cultures, medical devices, drug delivery carriers and ship hulls. With zwitterionic materials, results show (a) no capsule formation upon subcutaneous implantation in mice up to one year, (b) expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) without differentiation, (c) no anti-coagulants needed for artificial lungs in sheep, (d) no antibodies generated against zwitterionic polymers, and (e) environmentally benign and long-lasting marine coatings. I will also discuss recent studies on low-immunogenic and targeting materials and drug delivery carriers and their applications to nanomedicine and precision medicine.