Synthetic amino acids containing one or more non-fouling groups or moieties are described herein. In one embodiment, the amino acid has the following chemical formula:
where L is a linker group and Z is a non-fouling group including, but not limited to, polyethylene glycol (PEG); oligoethylene glycol (OEG); zwitterionic group, such as phosphorycholine, carboxybetaine, and sulfobetaine; groups that are hydrogen bond acceptors but not hydrogen bond donors. The non-fouling amino acids can be incorporated into a bioactive peptide as single amino acid residues, multiples amino acid residues, or as blocks of amino acids. The non-fouling amino acids, or peptides containing one or more non-fouling amino acids, can be applied to surfaces in order to improve biocompatibility, reduce thrombogenesis, and/or reduce fouling by proteins or bacteria present in solution.