| Abstract: | This article reports a novel photoinduced surface process technology enabling simultaneous hydrogel formation and its surface fixation on polymeric substrates. The process consists of layering two different types of photoreactive coatings on a polymeric surface, an azidophenyl-bearing polymer as an adhesive layer and cinnamoylated copolymer as a hydrogel layer, and subsequent UV irradiation. The photoreactive adhesive polymer coated on a substrate is poly(m-azidostyrene), in which photoreaction of phenyl azido groups is responsible for the chemical bonding between the substrate and hydrogel. N,N-dimethylacrylamide copolymer containing cinnamate moieties in their side chains, which undergo photocrosslinking via intermolecular dimerization, was applied as an overcoat on the adhesive layer. UV irradiation resulted in the formation of hydrogel chemically bonded onto the substrate. This was confirmed by ESCA measurements. A heparin-immobilized hydrogelated surface with controlled release characteristics was demonstrated. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
