Current biomedical devices often suffer in lifetime due to proteins, cells and bacteria adherence to the implants, forming dense collagenous capsule around these implants. Bio-fouling and foreign body reactions would induce inflammatory responses, and may give rise to infection and/or implant rejection. Antifouling materials are widely used to combat this costly and complicated problem. However, existing materials do not completely prevent foreign body reactions, and hence, may not be suitable for long-term in vivo applications. Herein we show that cross-linking polymers with calcium and a zwitterionic amino acid monomer, methacryloyl-l-lysine (MLL), produces a novel antifouling, biocompatible hydrogel. We used 6 common acrylate monomers and different concentrations of MLL to create this material. Hydrogel with 30 mol% MLL was best at preventing the attachment of cells, proteins and bacteria. The ultralow-fouling hydrogel resisted the formation of capsule for at least 2 months when subcutaneously implanted in mice. The zwitterionic hydrogels are chemically defined, inexpensive to make, highly porous, and moldable. They are promising as antifouling biomaterials that may improve the performance of medical devices such as biosensors, drug-releasing devices, tissue scaffolds and artificial organs.

由于蛋白质，细胞和细菌对植入物的粘附，在这些植入物周围形成致密的胶原蛋白胶囊，当前的生物医学设备通常会终身遭受痛苦。生物结垢和异物反应将引起炎症反应，并可能引起感染和/或植入物排斥。防污材料被广泛用于解决这一昂贵而复杂的问题。但是，现有材料不能完全防止异物反应，因此可能不适用于长期体内应用。在此我们显示出与钙和两性离子氨基酸单体，甲基丙烯酰基即交联聚合物升-赖氨酸（MLL），生产一种新型的防污，生物相容性水凝胶。我们使用了6种常见的丙烯酸酯单体和不同浓度的MLL来创建这种材料。具有30 mol％MLL的水凝胶最能防止细胞，蛋白质和细菌的附着。当将其皮下植入小鼠体内时，超低污染水凝胶至少可阻止胶囊形成2个月。两性离子水凝胶是化学定义的，制造便宜，高度多孔且可模塑的。它们有望用作防污生物材料，可以改善医疗设备的性能，例如生物传感器，释药设备，组织支架和人造器官。