Surface mobility of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-co-lauryl methacrylate polymers

To design new polymers for use in vivo it is necessary to characterize the surface of the material to understand the interactions that occur when it i s exposed to biological environments. Incorporation of phosphorylcholine (P C) into polymers has been shown to improve biocompatibility by suppressing unfavorable responses which occur on contact with body fluids. Here, a seri es of copolymers with varying ratios of the monomers 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) and lauryl (dodecyl)methacrylate (LMA) have been s ynthesized. The composition of the copolymers were analyzed using nuclear m agnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and coatings of these materials chara cterized using angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The interaction of the copolymer coatings with protein was investigated using surface plasm on resonance (SPR), while dynamic contact angle (DCA) was used to monitor t he surface hydrophobicity of the copolymers. The combination of the analyti cal techniques applied to the study of these copolymers has shown that the surfaces are extremely mobile and are able to rearrange depending on the en vironment in which the polymer is placed. SPR analysis has shown that the p lasma protein fibrinogen, known to initiate the clotting cascade, does not adsorb to the surface of the copolymers once they are hydrated.