Zwitterionic polymers have hydrophilic anion and cation groups simultaneously, which make them highly hydrated and render them unique biological antifouling property, i.e., those polymers can resist nonspecific protein adsorption, bacterial adhesion, and biofilm formation. Such character makes them increasingly applied in a wide range of bio- and medical related fields recently. The widely accepted antifouling mechanisms, steric effects and hydration theory, are briefly introduced. Based on the biological antifouling character, zwitterionic polymers can be used in medical devices' antifouling coatings, antimicrobial coatings, anticoagulation coatings, biomedical diagnosis, drug delivery in vivo; gene delivery carriers, membrane separation and marine coatings. The article mainly reviews the progress of those applications. Finally, issues existed in these applications are also discussed and perspectives of these applications are put forward. Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Steric repulsion theory
1.2 Hydration theory
2 Biological applications of zwitterionic polymers
2.1 Antifouling coating
2.2 Antimicrobial coating
2.3 Anticoagulation
2.4 Biomedical diagnosis
2.5 Drug delivery
2.6 Gene delivery
2.7 Others
3 Conclusion and perspective