Surface-Modified Membranes via 'Click'-Based Chemistry for Creating Low Fouling and Cell Adhesion-Triggering Interfaces

控制膜的表面特性对于确保它们在目标应用中正常工作至关重要。 在许多环境或生物医学应用中，关键的挑战是消除与细胞、蛋白质或其他分子相关的粘附和因此的结垢，这些粘附和结垢可以显著改变目标应用中的膜性质;或者，在一些生物反应器应用中，可逆的细胞粘附到膜上以允许细胞培养，然后按需细胞收集将是非常有益的。 我们的公司合作伙伴Thetis Environmental对开发这两种类型的膜感兴趣，特别是那些可以在宽温度范围内运行的膜。 然而，目前用于制造蛋白质排斥性或响应性膜表面的技术是低效的，需要无空气的条件，和/或难以按比例缩放到制造环境。 麦克马斯特大学的Hoare实验室最近开发了一种用于纤维素基表面的替代涂层技术，该技术使用简单的浸涂工艺，其中基于聚合物聚（低聚乙二醇甲基丙烯酸酯）（POEGMA）的功能性短聚合物链可以稳定地附着在表面上，而不需要任何复杂的加工步骤。 在这种情况下，拟议的Engage赠款的目标是设计一种可再生和可扩展的聚合物组合物和基于反应性POEGMA聚合物的涂层策略，以使Thetis Environmental独特的多层膜功能化。 我们将评估两种表面特性（即，抵抗蛋白质污染和控制细胞粘附的能力）以及膜运输性质（即，流动性、选择性和渗透性），以确定在不显著改变膜性能的情况下改善表面性质的最佳策略，目的是在接洽期结束前，在Thetis Environmental的当前工作流程中确定一个可翻译的实施流程。 这项工作有可能导致一个适销对路的产品，解决与膜相关的多个应用领域的关键挑战，除了在快速增长的领域提供培训机会（>10%的年增长率）。

Controlling the surface properties of membranes is essential to ensure that they function properly in their targeted applications. In many environmental or biomedical applications, the key challenge is to eliminate the adhesion and thus fouling associated with cells, proteins, or other molecules that can substantially change the membrane properties in the target application; alternately, in some bioreactor applications, reversible cell adhesion to the membrane to allow for cell culturing followed by on-demand cell collection would be highly beneficial. Our company partner Thetis Environmental has interests in developing both types of membranes, particularly those that can operate over broad temperature ranges. However, current techniques for fabricating protein-repellent or responsive membrane surfaces are inefficient, require air-free conditions, and/or are difficult to scale to a manufacturing context. The Hoare lab at McMaster University has recently developed an alternative coating technique for cellulose-based surfaces using a simple dip coating process in which functional short polymer chains based on the polymer poly(oligoethylene glycol methacrylate) (POEGMA) can be stably attached to the surface without requiring any complex processing steps. In this context, the objective of the proposed Engage grant is to engineer a reproducible and scalable polymer composition and coating strategy based on reactive POEGMA polymers to functionalize Thetis Environmental's unique multi-layer membranes. We will assess both the surface properties (i.e. the ability to resist protein fouling and control cell adhesion) as well as the membrane transport properties (i.e. flow, selectivity, and permeability) of the modified membranes to identify the best strategy for improving surface properties without significantly changing the membrane performance, aiming to identify a translatable process for implementation within Thetis Environmental's current workflow by the end of the Engage period. This work has the potential to lead to a marketable product that solves key challenges in multiple application areas associated with membranes in addition to providing training opportunities within a fast-growing field (>10% annual growth).