Enhancing adhesion and polymerization of lipase-plasma-polymerized-ethylene coatings deposited with planar dielectric-barrier-discharge-type aerosol-assisted atmospheric-pressure plasma system

Abstract

To enhance the adhesion and polymerization of lipase-plasma-polymerized-ethylene (lipase-PPE) coatings deposited by aerosol-assisted atmospheric plasma deposition (AAAPPD), the effects of voltage, ceramic-dielectric thickness, and pre-coated PPE layer were investigated. In AAAPPD system, ethylene and lipase-phosphate-buffered-saline aerosol were used as precursors to polymerize ethylene and embed lipase simultaneously. The deposited lipase-PPE coatings were analyzed with FTIR, SEM, and surface profiler. The results show that increasing voltage from 3 to 4 kV and decreasing ceramic-dielectric thickness from 1 to 0.38 mm improved the coating adhesion and polymerization. Also, depositing a PPE layer with high energy prior to lipase-PPE coating enhanced adhesion. These improvements of the biomolecule-PPE coatings facilitate further bioapplications of this new biomolecule-embedding method.