Adsorbed polymer conjugates to adaptively inhibit blood coagulation activation by medical membranes

Adaptive drug release can combat coagulation and inflammation activation at the blood-material interface with minimized side effects. For that purpose, poly(styrene-alt-maleic-anhydride) copolymers were conjugated to heparin via coagulation-responsive linker peptides and shown to tightly adsorb onto poly(ethersulfone) (PES)-surfaces from aqueous solutions as monolayers. Coagulation-responsive release of unfractionated as well as low molecular weight heparins from the respective coatings was demonstrated to be functionally beneficial in human plasma and whole blood incubation with faster release kinetics resulting in stronger anticoagulant effects. Coated poly(ethersulfone)/poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PES/PVP) flat membranes proved the technology to offer an easy, effective and robust anticoagulant interfacial functionalization of hemodialysis membranes. In perspective, the modularity of the adaptive release system will be used for inhibiting multiple activation processes.