Surface properties of segmented poly(ester urethane)s and evaluation of in vitro blood compatibility and in vivo biocompatibility

The correlation between the surface tension parameters and the chemical composition of poly(ester urethane) and poly(ether urethane) thin films with different soft and hard segments, both before and after plasma treatment, was investigated. For all investigated films, the polar terms contribute significantly to the total surface tensions, as due to the large electron-donor, gamma(-)(sv), interactions. Plasma treatment alters the surface energy of samples by changing their surface polarity and hydrophilicity. The polyurethane samples with higher hydrophilicity were tested for the blood protein adsorption, preliminary blood compatibility analyses and the tissue compatibility. The studied polyurethane had satisfactory balance between water uptake and blood protein adsorption, thrombogenic and hemolytic proprieties. Subcutaneous implantation of polyurethanes samples showed a good tolerance for the tested material. None of the animals died and none of chronic cellular inflammatory reactions observed so the studied material may be considered to be biomaterials.