MMA/MPEOMA copolymers as coating materials for improved blood compatibility: protein adsorption study

Surface-induced thrombosis remains one of the main problems in the developm ent of blood-contacting devices. When a foreign surface comes in contact wi th blood, the initial blood response is adsorption of blood proteins, follo wed by platelet adhesion and activation, leading to thrombus formation. A p articularly effective polymer for the prevention of protein adsorption and platelet adhesion appears to be polyethylene oxide (PEO). In this study, wa ter-insoluble copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methoxy PEO monom ethacrylates (MPEOMA) with different PEO molecular weights (200, 400, and 1 000) and monomer composition were synthesized and characterized by gel perm eation chromatography and H-1-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The synthesized copolymers were coated on glass slides by a spin coating method to prepare PEO-rich surfaces as blood-compatible surfaces. The surface pro perties of the copolymers and their interaction with blood proteins (albumi n, gamma-globulin, fibrinogen, and plasma proteins) were investigated by th e measurement of water contact angles and by electron spectroscopy for chem ical analysis, respectively. It was observed that the protein adsorption on the copolymer surfaces decreased with increasing PEO molecular weight and MPEOMA content in the copolymers. The copolymers with long PEO chains in MP EOMA (MMA/MPEO(1000)MA copolymers) were effective in preventing protein ads orption, even though their MPEOMA content was less than the copolymers with shorter PEO chains. (C) 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers.