Immobilization of poly(acrylamide) brushes onto poly(caprolactone) surface by combining ATRP and “click” chemistry: Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of protein adhesion

Developments of poly(caprolactone) in blood-contacting applications are often restricted due to its intrinsic hydrophobicity. One common way to improve its hemocompatibility is to attach hydrophilic polymers. Here we developed a non-destructive method to graft hydrophilic poly(acrylamide) (PAAm) onto poly(caprolactone) (PCL) surface. In this strategy, azido-ended PCL with low molecular weights was synthesized and blended with PCL to create a surface with “clickable” property. Alkyne-ended poly(acrylamide)s with controlled chain lengths were then synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), and finally were immobilized onto PCL surface by “click” reaction. The occurrence of immobilization was verified qualitatively by water contact angle measurement and quantitatively by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PAAm grafted surface exhibited fouling resistant properties, as demonstrated by reduced bovine serum albumin (BSA) and fibrinogen (Fg) adhesion.