Preparation and Characterization of Highly Conductive and Biorepulsive Polypyrrole/Polyglycerol Surface Films

Highly conductive and biorepulsive polymer films can be deposited onto gold by electrochemical polymerization of a polyglycerol-modified pyrrole derivative in aqueous solution. The growth of the polymer film is linearly determined by current density and time. Thicknesses of up to 400 nm can be obtained, where the polymerization is self-terminated due to the growth mechanism. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance measurements were employed to characterize the film formation dynamics and the conductivity of the films at different thicknesses. Furthermore, the films and their growth were characterized by reflection/absorption infrared spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance, atomic force microscopy, as well as contact angle measurements. The films are highly biorepulsive even at thicknesses as low as 10 nm, which could be demonstrated using protein and bacterial adhesion assays, thus opening the opportunity for their use in bioelectrical applications.