Fast and easily applicable glycerol-based spray coating

This work describes the fabrication and evaluation of a transparent hydrogel based spray coating to reduce marine biofouling on glass surfaces. A glycerol based copolymer was synthesized and covalently immobilized by applying a simple spray coating procedure. To test its nonfouling behavior, modified glass surfaces were exposed to different marine fouling species including bacteria, green algae, and blue mussels. For all tested species the coating could considerably reduce the settlement as compared to pristine glass surfaces. The settlement of blue mussels on coated surfaces was additionally compared to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrates. The glycerol based copolymer showed an even better resistance against blue mussel adhesion than PTFE. Furthermore, the nonfouling performance of the coating was tested via fibrinogen adsorption after aging coated silica slides under marine conditions. The major aim of this study is to provide an easy synthesis and application procedure for a polyglycerol based nonfouling coating and the evaluation of its nonfouling properties in marine environments.