Polymers and proteins: interactions at interfaces

The ability of polymer molecules attached at one end to a surface to prevent or enhance protein adsorption has been studied experimentally and theoretically. Recent systematic studies show that surface density seems to be the most important property of the tethered layer that determines its ability to prevent protein adsorption. Theoretical studies predict that the interactions of the polymer layer with the proteins and the adsorption behavior do not depend in the same way on polymer molecular weight and on the type of interaction of the polymer with the surface.