Antithrombogenic polymer alloy composed of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymer and segmented polyurethane.

To evaluate the antithrombogenicity of a new polymeric biomaterial in vivo, a polymer alloy tube composed of poly2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine(MPC)-co-2-ethylhexyl methacrylate polymer and a segmented polyurethane (SPU) was prepared by a solvent evaporation method on a Teflon rod from a homogeneous solution containing both the PMHE and SPU. The composition of the PMEH vs the SPU was 10 wt%. The inner and outer surfaces of the polymer alloy tubing were characterized by X-ray electron spectroscopic (XPS) measurements. The MPC units were located on the inner surface of the polymer alloy tubing rather than the outer surface. After immersion in aqueous media, a higher concentration of the MPC units was observed on both surfaces. Selective staining of the MPC units with osmium tetraoxide was carried out to observe the morphology of the PMEH domain on the surface of the polymer alloy. There were large-sized PMEH domains on the inner surface of the tubing but small-sized domains were found on the outer surface. This result was in good agreement with the XPS results. Blood compatibility of the polymer alloy was evaluated by observation of fibrinogen adsorption and platelet adhesion from human plasma. A lot of fibrinogen was adsorbed and many platelets adhered to the inner surface of the original SPU tubing. On the other hand, the PHEH/SPU polymer alloy tubing suppressed these adsorptions and adhesions. When the PMEH/SPU polymer alloy tubing was implanted into a rabbit's artery, thrombus could not be observed even after a 7-day implantation but the original SPU tubing was almost totally occluded only after a 90-min implantation due to serious thrombus deposition on the surface. These results clearly indicated that the PMEH in the SPU matrix acted as an antithrombus reagent by suppression of protein adsorption and platelet adhesion and activation. Particularly, the MPC units played a significant role in this function.