Patent ID: 7312057

Claim:
A method for reducing the ability of an organic material in an aqueous solution to bind to a hydrophobic surface comprising: (a) applying a coating solution to the hydrophobic surface, said coating solution comprising a non-ionic surfactant in a solvent, said non-ionic surfactant having (i) a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance number which is less than or equal to 5 and (ii) at least one hydrophilic element which can extend into an aqueous solution; (b) drying the coated hydrophobic surface of step (a) to remove the solvent from the coating solution and thereby bind the non-ionic surfactant to the hydrophobic surface; said applying and drying steps being performed without an intermediate washing step with an organic solvent and without a previous or subsequent glow discharge treatment; and (c) contacting the coated surface with an aqueous solution which contains the organic material and does not contain the non-ionic surfactant used in step (a) and step (b); said coated surface exhibiting reduced binding of the organic material in comparison to an uncoated surface.