Fibrinogen adsorption onto macroporous polymeric surfaces: correlation with biocompatibility aspects.

The present work focus on the adsorption of fibrinogen (Fgn) on to the semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-acrylonitrile) and attempts to correlate the adsorption behaviour of proteins to the blood compatible aspects of the polymeric surfaces. The semi-IPNs were prepared by copolymerizing 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and acrylonitrile in the presence of PEG and a crosslinker ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). The prepared spongy gels were characterized by FTIR and Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) for structural and morphological analysis. The prepared semi IPNs were studied for their water sorption capacity and the data were utilized to evaluate network parameters such as average molecular weight between crosslinks (M(c)) and crosslink density (q). The adsorption of Fgn was carried out on to the prepared polymeric matrices and static and dynamic aspects of the adsorption process were investigated. The adsorption process was also studied as a function of pH and ionic strength of the protein solution and chemical architecture of the semi IPN. The antithrombogenic properties of the IPN's were also judged and correlated with water sorption and protein adsorption findings.