In vitro hemocompatibility of sulfonated polypropylene non-woven fabric prepared via a facile γ-ray pre-irradiation grafting method

Abstract

Sulfonated polypropylene non-woven fabric (PPNWF) was successfully prepared via γ-ray pre-irradiation-induced graft polymerization of sodium styrenesulfonate (SSS) and acrylamide (AAm). The effect of pre-irradiation dose, reaction temperature, reaction time and concentration of binary monomer on the degree of grafting (DG) was studied. The chemical structure of the original and modified PPNWF materials were investigated by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to confirm the successful introduction of sulfonated (SO3−) group. The wettability was examined via measurement of de-ionized water adsorption percentage, which demonstrated that the hydrophilicity of PPNWF was greatly enhanced after graft modification. A little amount of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption and nearly no platelet adhesion on the surface of modified PPNWF and low hemolytic ratio of the modified PPNWF revealed that the sulfonated PPNWF exhibited good hemocompatibility. Besides, blood clotting time measurement indicated that the anticoagulant property of PPNWF was effectively enhanced via SSS modification. Consequently, the hydrophilicity, in vitro hemocompatibility and anticoagulant effect of PPNWF were significantly improved by γ-ray pre-irradiation-induced graft polymerization of SSS.