Abstract
Microsieves are a new type of Si-based membranes, which are coated with a SixN4 top layer. Although SixN4 is known to be relatively inert, surface contamination (fouling through e.g. protein adsorption) is critical for application in microfiltration. As a result, surface modification is needed to prevent or minimize these interactions. Functional coatings can be formed on the SixN4 surfaces via several grafting methods which are presented here. Some stable modifications allow the covalent grafting of biorepelling oligomers and polymers whose effect on protein adsorption is shown.