Influence of the Molecular Structure of Surface-Attached Poly(N-alkyl Acrylamide) Coatings on the Interaction of Surfaces with Proteins, Cells and Blood Platelets

Blood protein adsorption and blood platelet adhesion onto surface-attached poly(alkylacrylamide) networks that exhibit small and systematic variations in chemical composition are investigated. The polymer coatings are generated by depositing a thin layer of benzophenone-group-containing copolymer onto a solid substrate, followed by photo crosslinking and simultaneous surface-attachment. The correlation of the swelling of the obtained surface-attached networks with the adsorption of blood proteins and cellular adhesion is studied. The swollen surface-attached layers are inert to blood proteins and platelet cells. These results suggest that the hydrogel-coated materials are promising candidates for the generation of hemocompatible surfaces.