ABSTRACT
Polymer brushes have been shown in many investigations to be one of the most powerful systems to control interfacial properties [1-11]. Brushes can be used to coat colloidal particles, thereby strongly enhancing the colloidal
CONTENTS
7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 133 7.2Early Attempts............................................................................................ 137
7.2.1Block Copolymers on Surfaces: Theory ...................................... 137 7.2.2 Block Copolymers on Surfaces: Experiments ............................ 141 7.2.3 Brush Formation through Adsorption of Complex
Coacervate Core Micelles .............................................................. 143 7.2.4Langmuir-Blodgett Transfer ........................................................ 145
7.3The Zipper Brush Approach .................................................................... 148 7.3.1 Reversible Assembly of Dense Polymer Brushes: Basic Idea ... 148 7.3.2 Experimental Verification ............................................................. 149 7.3.3 Charge Compensation................................................................... 153 7.3.4Antifouling Properties of the Zipper Brush .............................. 155 7.3.5Structure of the Zipper Brush and the Kinetic Barrier in
Its Formation ................................................................................... 156 7.4 Conclusions and Perspectives .................................................................. 156 References ............................................................................................................. 158
stability as the brush prevents particles coming close enough to aggregate [2,3]. Polymer brushes, especially from poly(ethylene oxide) have been shown to protect interfaces from biofouling [4,5] and can be used on medical implants to reduce chances of inflammation [6]. Polymer brushes have been shown to have unique wetting properties [7,8] and can also greatly reduce the friction between two interfaces [9,10]. Especially, polyelectrolyte brushes have the potential to accommodate enzymes without affecting their structure and function [11].
