Patent ID: 8911831

Claim:
A method of spontaneously modifying a substrate surface, the method comprising contacting at least a portion of the substrate with an alkaline solution comprising an oxidant selected from the group consisting of dissolved oxygen, triethylamine, hydrogen peroxide, sodium periodate, tertiary butylhydroperoxide, organic peroxides, quinines, nitroaryl compounds, Cu 2+ , Fe 3+ , Co 3+ , Mn 3+ , phenols, indoles, and aminobenzenes; the solution further comprising a surface-modifying agent according to Formula I: wherein each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 is independently selected from the group consisting of a thiol, a primary amine, a secondary amine, a nitrile, an aldehyde, an imidazole, an azide, a halide, a polyhexamethylene dithiocarbonate, a hydrogen, a hydroxyl, a carboxylic acid, an aldehyde, a carboxylic ester or a carboxamide, provided at least one of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 is not a hydrogen atom; wherein x ranges from 0 to 10 and wherein y ranges from 0 to 10, provided that x or y is at least 1; wherein the substrate surface is spontaneously modified.