PREPARATION AND SURFACE-PROPERTIES OF PEO-SULFONATE GRAFTED POLYURETHANES FOR ENHANCED BLOOD COMPATIBILITY

In order to improve the thromboresistance of the commercial polyuretha ne(PU), its surface modification was accomplished by three new differe nt Methods and their surface characteristics were investigated using A TR-FTIR, ESCA, SEM, and dynamic contact angle measurements. Sulfonatio ns using propane sultone were performed directly onto PU or onto hydro phobic dodecanediol (DDO) grafted PU or onto hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) grafted PU. ESCA data coincided well with ATR-IR results, as more 0 at. % for PEO grafted PUs and the presence of S for the sul fonated PUs were revealed. At SEM observation the surfaces of PU-DDO a nd PU-PEO were relatively smooth, whereas all the sulfonated PU surfac es showed excellent smoothness and homogeneity. The hydrophilicity of the surfaces was considerably increased after PEO grafting or sulfonat ion. In addition, all the sulfonated PU surfaces, particularly PU-PEO- SO3, which has further hydrophilicity, exhibited complete wetting beha vior due to the negatively charged SO3 groups.