Hydrophilic diazirine polymer for one-step photo-fabrication of proteins on polypropylene surface

A facile photochemical fabrication of chemical and biological functionalities on polypropylene surface has been performed by using photoactivatable polymers containing diazirine photophore. The water-soluble polymers have been synthesized from polyamine or polycarboxylic acid by coupling with aryldiazirine derivatives. Upon irradiation, the photoactivatable polymer successfully immobilized proteins such as horseradish peroxidase, lysozyme, and pepsin on the inert surface of polypropylene film in one step. This soft polymer cushion supplied a hydrophilic environment around the enzyme and enhanced the enzyme activity. Specifically, the polymer (HDA-PEI) introduced a hydrophilic spacer between diazirine and polymer main chain significantly increased the activity.