Microwave plasma activation of a polyvinylidene fluoride surface for protein immobilization

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was modified by CO 2 , N 2 or N 2 /H 2 plasmas, which permitted the attachment of short carboxyl or amino groups. A variation of the discharge parameters was performed, for their optimization, as well as for minimizing degradation in favour of acidic, amphiphilic or basic functionalization, respectively. The optimum parameters of discharge for CO 2 , N 2 or N 2 /H 2 plasmas were P = 50 W, gas flow rate Q = 16 × 10 −8 m 3 s −1 , exposure time t = 30–60 s, d = 0.1 m, pressure 15 Pa. The new surfaces were characterized by wettability measurements, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods. In a second step, the proteins (triglycine (TG) and protein A) were adsorbed or chemically grafted onto the carboxyl or amino functionalized surface, after EDC/NHS (1-ethyl-3-(-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide/ N -hydroxysuccinimide) activation of proteins. ATR-FTIR, XPS and AFM investigations confirmed the presence of protein on the surface. The XPS C1s core levels at 286.3 eV (C–N), 288 eV (amide bond) and 298 eV (carboxylic acid), together with variation of the O1s and N1s signals, illustrated the immobilization of proteins. It was established that TG was better attached on surfaces activated with N 2 /H 2 plasma, while protein A was more tightly anchored on CO 2 , N 2 plasma-activated surfaces. The former procedure allowed higher surface densities, while the latter permitted a better chemical control. The results proved that plasma-treated PVDF is a good substrate for protein coating, which can be further used for microorganisms' detection, as evidenced by the immunoassay test.