Effectiveness of novel amphiphilic co-network coatings in marine antifouling applications and the dynamic succession of early microbial communities on surfaces

Abstract

Marine biofouling causes significant damage to shipping, emphasizing the importance of developing non-toxic and effective antifouling coating. In this study, hydrophilic chains capped with MPTMS were successfully synthesized via radical polymerization and addition reactions. The subsequent condensation reactions between silanols and PDMS formed a silicone-based amphiphilic co-network coating (P-PDM-x). The chemically heterogeneous structure formed through covalent bonding can be the surface reconstitute in the water, forming a special micro/nanodomain structure to reduce the entropy-enthalpy driving force in the adsorption process of marine organisms, thus giving the coating excellent antifouling performance. Moreover, the coating has good adhesion and impact resistance to ensure stable use in marine environments. Compared to PDMS, P-PDM-15 effectively reduced the adhesion of bacteria and algae, with anti-adhesion rates of 86.00 % for B. subtilis, 97.99 % for P. ruthenica, and 99.39 % for P. tricornutum. Furthermore, P-PDM-15 demonstrated excellent resistance to fouling over a four-month period in the marine field test. To better understand the process of early succession of microbial communities on amphiphilic coated surfaces, high-throughput sequencing analyses revealed a distinct spatio-temporal structure and dynamics of community succession on the P-PDM-15 surface. The diversity showed a decreasing and then increasing trend, potentially due to competition among communities or the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. This study introduces a novel approach to synthesise amphiphilic anti-fouling coatings with improved efficiency, using high-throughput sequencing analysis to investigate the intricate interaction between these coatings and biofilms, which is expected to promote the development of marine anti-fouling coatings.