A facile approach to modify polyurethane surfaces for biomaterial applications

In this communication, we introduce a facile and highly efficient approach for surface modification of polyurethane (PU). Double bonds were incorporated onto the PU surface using a unique monomer, methacryloyl isothiocyanate (MI). Several monomers, such as N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAAm) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), were used to prove that the polymerization process can be carried out on a vinyl-functionalized surface. The protein-adsorption property of the grafted surfaces shows that protein adsorption was significantly reduced after grafting each polymer onto the PU surface. Moreover, this method can be applied to polyurethane materials with any shape, including tubes and scaffolds, for which plasma treatment and photoinitiation at the inner surface are difficult to perform.