Biofouling-resistant ceragenin-modified materials and structures for water treatment

A biofouling-resistant material, made by performing a process of attaching alkene-functionalized ceragenins to a surface of a polymer substrate using a silane-based coating and UV light, comprising, in the order listed:

• a) attaching a silane-based coating to a surface of a polymer substrate, wherein the coating contains free amine groups;
• b) treating the silane-based coating with a Type II compound comprising an acid halide or an anhydride with pendant alkenes;
• c) contacting the Type-II treated surface with a monomer solution comprising an alkene-functionalized ceragenin monomer, a comonomer, and a solvent;
• d) exposing the monomer solution contacting the surface to UV light, thereby forming radicals that initiate a polymerization reaction;
• and
• e) forming ceragenin-containing copolymer reaction products that are chemically grafted to the surface of the polymer substrate via siloxane linkages.

A biofouling-resistant material, made by performing a process of attaching silane-functionalized ceragenins to a hydroxyl-functionalized surface of a polymer substrate, comprising, in the order listed:

• a) providing a substrate with free hydroxyl groups on a surface of a substrate;
• and
• b) contacting silane-functionalized ceragenins with the hydroxyl-functionalized surface;
• thereby attaching the silane-functionalized ceragenins to the surface via siloxane linkages.