Surface modification of silicone rubber with poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel coatings

Hydrogel coatings of monoacrylated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) methyl ethers of different molecular weights were attached to silicon rubber surfaces and crosslinked with hexanediol diacrylate or ethoxylated trimethylolpropane diacrylate by UV polymerization. The wetting, evaluated with the water contact angles, correlated with the surface oxyethylene chain density, which was evaluated with the ESCA >C-O-/-CH2- ratio obtained from the C(1s) peak. As measured by the ESCA N(1s) peak, bovine serum albumin formed very thin protein adsorbates on the PEG-coated surfaces. A strong correlation was found between low protein adsorption and a high >C-O-/-CH2- ratio of the PEG-coated substrate. The PEG-coated silicon rubber also demonstrated very low cell and platelet adhesion. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.