Anti-Biofouling Features of Eco-Friendly Oleamide-PDMS Copolymers

Eunseok Seo; Myeong Ryun Seong; Ji Woong Lee; Heejin Lim; Jiwon Park; Hyungbin Kim; Hyundo Hwang; Dohoon Lee; Jiho Kim; Gwang Hoon Kim; Dong Soo Hwang; Sang Joon Lee

doi:10.1021/acsomega.0c00633

Anti-Biofouling Features of Eco-Friendly Oleamide-PDMS Copolymers

ACS Omega. 2020 May 15;5(20):11515-11521. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.0c00633. eCollection 2020 May 26.

Authors

Eunseok Seo¹, Myeong Ryun Seong¹, Ji Woong Lee², Heejin Lim³, Jiwon Park⁴, Hyungbin Kim⁵, Hyundo Hwang¹, Dohoon Lee⁶, Jiho Kim⁷, Gwang Hoon Kim², Dong Soo Hwang⁶, Sang Joon Lee¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, South Korea.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju 314-701, South Korea.
³ Department of New Biology, DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology), Daegu 711-873, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Microbiology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, South Korea.
⁵ Division of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology (IBB), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, South Korea.
⁶ Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, South Korea.
⁷ Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Pohang 37673, South Korea.

Abstract

The biofouling of marine organisms on a surface induces serious economic damage. One of the conventional anti-biofouling strategies is the use of toxic chemicals. In this study, a new eco-friendly oleamide-PDMS copolymer (OPC) is proposed for sustainable anti-biofouling and effective drag reduction. The anti-biofouling characteristics of the OPC are investigated using algal spores and mussels. The proposed OPC is found to inhibit the adhesion of algal spores and mussels. The slippery features of the fabricated OPC surfaces are examined by direct measurement of pressure drops in channel flows. The proposed OPC surface would be utilized in various industrial applications including marine vehicles and biomedical devices.