hydrophobic polymer surfaces whose level of protein binding is less than about 50 - 80 ng / cm 2 are achieved by : applying to a hydrophobic polymer surface a coating solution composed of a solvent and a non - ionic surfactant having a hlb number of less than 5 and at least one hydrophilic element which can extend into an aqueous solution ; and drying the surface to remove the solvent and thereby bring the surfactant into direct contact with the hydrophobic polymer . the combination of a low hlb number and the drying step have been found to produce low binding surfaces which can withstand multiple washes with water and / or protein - containing solutions . alternatively , the low binding surfaces can be produced by applying the non - ionic surfactant to mold surfaces which contact molten polymer and form the polymer into a desired shape , e . g ., into a multi - well plate , a pipette tip , or the like . further , the low binding surfaces may be produced by incorporating non - soluble , non - ionic surfactants having an hlb number of less than or equal to 10 into a polymer blend prior to molding the article . molding uses shear condition that cause the surfactant to move to the surface of a polymer product formed by the molding such that a hydrophilic part of the surfactant extends from the surface to provide a surface having low binding for proteins .