Biofilm-resistant urethane-linked poly(methoxyethyl acrylate) copolymer films with enhanced durability and self-healing capabilities

2-Methoxyethyl acrylate draws significant interest for its exceptional biofilm-resistant properties, but its interaction with other monomers complicates outcome predictions during polymerization. To investigate these mechanisms, we synthesized biofilm-resistant prepolymers, HMEA and GMEA, using free radical polymerization (FRP). Gelation issues caused by the intramolecular crosslinking were mitigated by introducing styrene spacers, yielding a new set of additional prepolymers, HSMEA and GSMEA. Crosslinking with an aliphatic isocyanate (HDI) in the presence of a dibutyltin dilaurate (DTBDL) catalyst successfully formed urethane linkages, which were confirmed by attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. Overall, this crosslinking significantly reduced the exposed OH groups and enhanced the hydrophobicity of the polymers. Both cGMEA and cGSMEA displayed exceptional antibiofouling behavior as demonstrated by their resistance to bovine serum albumin (BSA). Mechanical tests demonstrated superior properties with tensile strengths of 4.1 MPa and 3.6 MPa and impressive elongation strains of 223% and 425%, respectively. This work reports one of its kind 2-Methoxyethyl acrylate-based polymer consisting of reversible urethane bonds providing self-healing capabilities and enhanced durability as a coating material. However, further investigation into the underlying mechanisms of these synergistic effects will be critical to fully harness the potential of methoxyethyl acrylate-based polymers.