Modification of the biopolymer castor oil with free isocyanate groups to be applied as bioadhesive

Surgical adhesives have been used for several applications, including haemostasis, sealing air leakages and tissue adhesion. The aim of this work was to develop a biodegradable urethane-based bioadhesive containing free isocyanate groups. This material presents the advantage of being biodegradable, biocompatible and having the capacity of reacting with amino groups present in the biological molecules. A urethane based on castor oil (CO) was synthesized by reaction of the molecule with isophorone diisocyanate (IPD). The characterization of the material was accomplished by different techniques: ATR-FT-IR (attenuated transmittance reflection-Fourier transform infrared), swelling capacity determination, evaluation of the moisture curing kinetics, reaction with aminated substrates and determination of surface energy by contact angle measurement. The study of the urethane thermal properties was performed by DMTA (dynamical mechanical thermal analysis) and TGA (thermogravimetric analysis). The haemocompatibility of the urethane was also evaluated by thrombosis and haemolysis tests. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.