Stainless steel with robust anibacterial activiy based on a versatile and bio-inspired strategy

The synthesis of a poly(methacrylamide) bearing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine inspired from the chemical composition of mussel adhesives will be presented. This homopolymer is designed to insure a multilayer film growth by covalent coupling during the layer-by-layer building with a homopolymer containing amino groups. The film cross-linking is initiated by adequately controlling both the redox state of the polymer and the pH of the solutions. This cross-linking is evidenced by solid-state 13C NMR with the occurrence of a typical signal of imine, traducing the Schiff base formation during film growth. The same coupling reaction is implemented for grafting an antibacterial peptide, Nisin, on a stainless steel substrate. Antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis is preserved even after long immersion time, as the result of the peptide covalent anchoring on the surface. All the processing steps, including the synthesis of the polymers and the peptide grafting, are performed in aqueous solutions under mild conditions.