Non-fouling, anti-microbial, anti-thrombogenic graft-from compositions

1. A process for grafting a polymer from an article comprising a substrate having a surface, a bulk beneath the surface, and a near-surface zone lying between the surface and the bulk, the process comprising incorporating a polymerization initiator into the near-surface zone and graft polymerizing a polymer from the substrate surface to form a grafted polymer layer comprising the grafted polymer, the grafted polymer layer having a global average dry thickness that is at least equal to the global average R rms surface roughness of the substrate surface and at least about 50 nanometers.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the grafted polymer is a zwitterionic polymer.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the grafted polymer is a chain growth addition polymer.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the grafted polymer comprises repeat units corresponding to Formula 1

wherein

X 1 and X 2 are independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, or substituted carbonyl, provided, however, X 1 and X 2 are not each selected from the group consisting of aryl, heteroaryl, and heterosubstituted carbonyl,

X 3 is hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl,

X 4 is —OX 40 , —NX 41 X 42 , —N+X 41 X 42 X 43 , —SX 40 , aryl, heteroaryl or acyl,

X 40 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo or acyl,

and

X 41 , X 42 and X 43 are independently hydrogen, hydrocaryl, substituted hydrocarbyl or heterocyclo.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the grafted polymer comprises at least one repeat unit corresponding to Formula 2:

wherein

X 3 is hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl, and

X 4 is a pendant group comprising an oxylated alkylene moiety, a zwitterionic moiety, an anionic moiety, or a cationic moiety.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the polymer comprises repeat units corresponding to Formula 4:

wherein

a is 0-1;

b is 0-1;

c is 0-1;

d is 0-1;

m is 1-20

n and o are independently 0-11;

p and q are independently 0-11;

X 3 is hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl,

X 4 is —OX 40 , —NX 41 X 42 , —SX 40 aryl, heteroaryl or acyl;

X 40 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo or acyl;

X 41 and X 42 are independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl or heterocyclo; and

X 49 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl,

provided the sum of a, b, c and d is greater than 0 and X 4 of repeat unit D differs from the corresponding pendant group of repeat units A, B and C.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the grafted polymer comprises repeat units corresponding to Formula 5, Formula 6, Formula 7, Formula 8, or Formula 9:

wherein

HET is part of a heterocyclic structure,

X 3 is hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl,

X 4 is —OX 40 , —NX 41 X 42 , —SX 40 , aryl, heteroaryl or acyl,

X 5 is ester, anhydride, imide, amide, ether, thioether, thioester, hydrocarbylene, substituted hydrocarbylene, heterocyclo, urethane, or urea;

X 6 is hydrocarbylene, substituted hydrocarbylene, heterocyclo, amide, anhydride, ester, imide, thioester, thioether, urethane, or urea;

X 7 is hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl;

X 8 is an anionic moiety;

X 9 is hydrocarbylene, substituted hydrocarbylene, heterocyclo, amide, anhydride, ester, imide, thioester, thioether, urethane, or urea;

X 10 is hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl;

X 11 is a cationic moiety;

X 12 is hydrocarbylene, substituted hydrocarbylene, heterocyclo, amide, anhydride, ester, imide, thioester, thioether, urethane, or urea;

X 13 is hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl;

X 14 is an anionic moiety;

L 1 and L 2 are independently hydrocarbylene, substituted hydrocarbylene, heterocyclo, amide, anhydride, ester, imide, thioester, thioether, urethane, or urea; and

X 40 is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo or acyl,

and

X 41 and X 42 are independently hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl or heterocyclo.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the graft polymerizing includes graft polymerizing the grafted polymer in a polymerization mixture comprising polymerization monomers and a solvent system.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein at least the portion of the substrate into which the polymerization initiator is incorporated is not significantly swelled by the polymerization mixture.

10. The process of claim 8 wherein the polymerization monomers and the initiator(s) incorporated into the substrate has/have limited solubility in the solvent system.

11. The process of claim 8 wherein the substrate is a composite of materials, the substrate comprises a coating of a precoat material overlying a metal, ceramic, glass or semi-metallic material, and the coating of the precoat material does not swell more than 30% by volume at 25° C. under equilibrium conditions in the polymerization mixture solvent system.

12. The process of claim 8 wherein the initiator comprises a redox pair.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein one member of the pair is soluble in the polymerization mixture solvent system but the other has limited solubility in the polymerization mixture solvent system.

14. The process of claim 12 wherein the redox pair comprises a peroxide and a reducing agent wherein the peroxide has limited solubility in the polymerization solvent system and the reducing agent has high solubility in the polymerization solvent system.