Integrated antifouling and bactericidal polymer membranes through bioinspired polydopamine/poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) coating

Abstract Polypropylene (PP) non-woven has been widely used as wound dressing; however, the hydrophobic nature of PP can initiate bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation. Herein, we propose a facile approach to functionalize PP non-woven with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone)-iodine complex (PVP-I). PVP and PEG were successively tethered onto PP non-woven surface via versatile bioinspired dopamine (DA) chemistry, followed by complexing iodine with PVP moieties. It was demonstrated through the field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) and spread plate method that the as-modified PP non-woven integrated both antifouling property of PEG for suppressing bacterial adhesion, and bactericidal property of PVP-I for killing the few adherent bacteria. Meanwhile, it could greatly resist platelet and red blood cell adhesion. The integrated antifouling and bactericidal PP non-woven surfaces might have great potential in various wound dressing applications.