Modification and evaluation of Polylactic Acid (PLA) for improved its hemocompatibility and hydrophilicity

Abstract The risk of clot formation in blood_contacting devices is a significant concern. Therefore, development of biomaterials with improved hemocompatibility is necessary. Altering surface properties is an effective strategy to improve the hemocompatibility. PLA is a biodegradable and biocampatible polymer that used in many biomedical devicess, however PLA has a relatively hydrophobic, neutral surface and with poor functional groups. In this work, we improved the hemocompatibility and hydrophilicity properties of PLA by using heparin. Heparin is a polyanion, hydrophilic polysaccharid that has anticoagulation properties. We first functionalized the PLA by optimising the conditions of the aminolysis method and subsequently heparin immoblize using a coupling agent. Then the hemocompatibility and hydrophilicity of the samples were evaluated using ATR_FTIR, Water Contact Angle, PT assay, and clotting time measurment. Finally, the results showed that the hemocompatibility and hydrophilicity of heparinized PLA samples were improved.