Blood compatibility of thermoplastic polyurethane membrane immobilized with water-soluble chitosan/dextran sulfate

Water-soluble chitosan (WSC)/dextran sulfate (DS) was immobilized onto the surface of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) membrane after ozone-induced graft polymerization of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). The surface was characterized with contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adsorption of human plasma fibrinogen (HPF) followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The results showed that the surface density of peroxides generated and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) grafted reached the maximum value at 20 min of ozone treatment. It was found that the WSC- and DS-immobilized amount increased with pH and the molecular weight of WSC. The membrane/water interfacial free energy increased with PAA-grafting and WSC/DS-immobilization, indicating the increasing wettability of TPU membrane. The adsorption of HPF on TPU-WSC/DS membranes could be effectively curtailed and exhibited unfavorable adsorption. Moreover, WSC/DS immobilization could effectively reduce platelet adhesion and prolong the blood coagulation time, thereby membrane improving blood compatibility of TPU membrane. In addition, the in vitro cytotoxicity test of PEC modification was non-cytotoxic according to much low growth inhibition of L929 fibroblasts. Furthermore, TPU-WSC/DS membranes exhibited higher cell viability than native TPU membrane.