Development of bio/blood compatible polypropylene through low pressure nitrogen plasma surface modification.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Polypropylene (PP) exhibits poor wettability and biocompatibility.
• Surface modification is crucial for enhancing PP's suitability in biomedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve polypropylene's wettability and biocompatibility using nitrogen-containing plasma.
• To investigate the effects of plasma treatment parameters on surface properties and cell interactions.

Main Methods:

• Surface modification of polypropylene using nitrogen-containing plasma.
• Evaluation of wettability via static contact angle measurements.
• Analysis of surface morphology using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).
• Optimization of process variables (power, pressure, flow rate, treatment time) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).

Main Results:

• Nitrogen plasma treatment successfully incorporated nitrogen and oxygen functional groups, significantly improving surface hydrophilicity.
• Cross-linking and surface modification dominated over degradation, with optimized parameters minimizing weight loss.
• Enhanced fibroblast cell adhesion and improved blood compatibility (reduced platelet adhesion, increased partial thromboplastin time) were observed on treated surfaces.

Conclusions:

• Nitrogen plasma surface modification is an effective method for enhancing polypropylene's wettability, biocompatibility, and hemocompatibility.
• The study provides insights into optimizing plasma treatment parameters for tailored surface properties.
• The modified polypropylene shows promise for biomedical applications requiring improved surface interactions.