[Interaction of poly-2-methyl-5-vinyl-N-ethylpyridinium bromide and heparin studied by means of ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy].

Antithrombotic properties are induced in polymers used in vascular surgery by modifying their surface chemically by introducing heparin by means of quaternary bases. The authors have studied the interaction of heparin with quaternary polyvinylpyridinium bromide. Optimal conditions for obtaining this complex have been established. The complex is insoluble in distilled water but passes partly into solution in the presence of an excess of heparin or in physiologic solution. Using spectral methods and elementar analysis it was found that the interaction of heparin with quaternary polyvinylpyridinium gives rise to a polyelectrolyte complex in which heparin undergoes structural changes, probably pertaining to sulfonamide or sulfoether groups.