Novel aerosol assisted plasma deposition of PEG containing coatings for non-fouling application

A novel method has been developed for the deposition of PEG containing coatings with cell repulsive properties. PEG is atomized from a water solution directly in a dielectric barrier discharge where, due to the presence of a film precursor, ethylene, a composite coating is deposited. Morphological characterization evidenced the globular appearance of the coatings due to the presence in the feed of solution droplets. The chemical characterization, and in particular the MALDI-TOF analysis confirmed the presence of PEG-like regions, in an amount decreasing with increasing the ethylene content in the film. Finally, cell adhesion was considerably reduced for the PEG-rich deposited coatings.