Catalytic surface modification of roll-milled poly(ε-caprolactone) biaxially stretched to ultra-thin dimension

A novel roll-milling polymer processing technique along with biaxial stretching was used to fabricate 10 mu m thick poly(epsilon-caprolactone) films. A less invasive collagen surface modification was used, involving a reaction between corona-preactivated membranes and ferrous-containing acrylic acid solution at the low temperature of 42 degrees C. Successful modified films were characterized by Toluidine Blue O assay and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells also showed both higher proliferation rate and differentiated cobblestone morphology on these collagen-immobilized substrates. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.