A facile way to prepare anti-fouling and blood-compatible polyethersulfone membrane via blending with heparin-mimicking polyurethanes

Abstract

In this study, new kinds of heparin-mimicking polyurethanes (PUs) were fabricated conveniently in the mixed solution of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and water, reducing the usage of organic solvent. Functional groups of SO3H and/or COOH were introduced into PUs with various ratios of SO3H to COOH. The PUs were then blended with polyethersulfone (PES) to fabricate heparin-mimicking modified PES membranes by a phase inversion technique. Then, the microstructures, zeta potentials, water contact angles (WCA) and protein adsorptions of the membranes were characterized. Comparing with pristine PES membrane, the modified membranes showed changed cross-sectional morphology, lowered zeta potentials and decreased water contact angles, revealing that the hydrophilicity and anti-fouling properties were improved. The modified membranes also showed prolonged clotting tines (APTTs) and suppressed platelet adhesion, revealing that the anticoagulant properties increased. The results of complement activation, contact activation and platelet activation further implied that the modified membranes had good blood compatibility. In addition, the cells on the membranes showed good morphology with the introduction of the PUs. With the increase of the ratio of SO3H to COOH, the hydrophilicity, the blood compatibility as well as the cytocompatibility increased, implying that the SO3H groups could improve the hemocompatibility of the membranes more effectively than COOH groups. While the membranes containing more COOH groups had better antifouling properties of BSA and BFG. Therefore, the hemocompatibility for the heparin-mimicking membranes could be tuned by controlling the ratios of SO3H to COOH. The PES/PU composite membranes might have great potential to be used in the field of blood purification.