Hemocompatibility and film stability improvement of crosslinkable MPC copolymer coated polypropylene hollow fiber membrane

• Phospholipid polymers were dip-coated on PP-HFM surfaces.
• Crosslinkable MPC copolymer forms more stable coating on the PP-HFM.
• Dense and stable cell outer membrane mimetic film formed on the PP-HFM surface.
• Hemocompatibility of the PP-HFM was improved significantly.
• Oxygenation performance was enhanced compared to the bare PP-HFM oxygenator.

Hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) based artificial lungs require a large blood-contacting membrane surface area to provide adequate gas exchange. However, such a large surface presents significant challenges to hemocompatibility. For improving the hemocompatibility, amphiphilic and cell outer membrane mimetic 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) copolymers containing 3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TSMA) and/or n-butyl methacrylate (BMA) units, poly(MPC-co-BMA-co-TSMA) (PMBT) and poly(MPC-co-BMA) (PMB) were coated on a commercial polypropylene (PP) HFM. Dynamic contact angle, ATR-FTIR and XPS results showed that both the PMB and PMBT phospholipid polymer coatings are stable in water, but only the crosslinked PMBT coating can resist the dissolution by ethanol or SDS aqueous solution. Protein adsorption, platelet adhesion and whole blood contact experiments showed significant improvement in hemocompatibility after being coated with the PMBT. Moreover, oxygenation experiments indicated that the blood compatible coating could resist blood permeance and did not hinder the gas exchange. Overall these findings revealed improved hemocompatibility which can be realized through crosslinkable phospholipid polymer coating, enabling more stable and more biocompatible HFMs respiratory assist devices.

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