Polymer brushes through adsorption: From early attempts to the ultra-dense and reversible “zipper brush”

Polymer brushes have been shown in many investigations to be one of the most powerful systems to control interfacial properties [1–11]. Brushes can be used to coat colloidal particles, thereby strongly enhancing the colloidal stability as the brush prevents particles coming close enough to aggregate [2,3]. Polymer brushes, especially from poly(ethylene oxide) have been shown to protect interfaces from biofouling [4,5] and can be used on medical implants to reduce chances of inflammation [6]. Polymer brushes have been shown to have unique wetting properties [7,8] and can also greatly reduce the friction between two interfaces [9,10]. Especially, polyelectrolyte brushes have the potential to accommodate enzymes without affecting their structure and function [11].