Modification of poly(ether urethane) with fluorinated phosphorylcholine polyurethane for improvement of the blood compatibility

In order to improve the blood compatibility, poly(ether urethane) (PEU) and fluorinated phosphorylcholine polyurethane (P-HFPC) were used to prepare PU/P-HFPC blends by solution mixing. The hemocompatibility in vitro was evaluated with protein adsorption and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) contact tests. It was found that the amount of adsorbed protein on surface was decreased by 87%, and almost no platelet adhesion and activation was observed on the surface of blends when P-HFPC content was above 5 wt %. After adding P-HFPC, the blends basically kept favorable mechanical properties of PEU though the content of P-HFPC rises to 20 wt %. To better understand the relationship between structure and properties, the phase structure and surface property of the blend films were further investigated via differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. The results indicated that the fluorinated phosphorylcholine units could be easily enriched on the surface of blend films due to the phase separation between the PEU and P-HFPC. Therefore, ordinary poly(ether urethane)s can obtain both satisfactory blood compatibility and good mechanical properties just by blending with small amount of P-HFPC. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2012.