Anti-Adhesion and Anti-Fouling Coatings of Feed Spacer

In this work, a new approach for the anti-biofouling modification of the feed spacer surface has been proposed. Hydrophilic and zwitterionic sulfobetaine methacrylate-based coatings were generated by the combination of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment in air and followed by dip coating. The anti-adhesion properties of the modified specimens were evaluated in batch tests with Pseudomonas fluorescence GFP via Gramnegative staining with subsequent UV-Vis spectrometry and observation using SEM. Long-term anti-biofouling test was performed over several days in a fouling simulator, where the pressure drop increase has been monitored. The investigated coatings have shown very promising anti-adhesion and antibiofouling properties.