Grafting with chondroitin sulfate on poly(vinyl alcohol) to improve antifouling property

Abstract

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels become muddy while used in artificial corneas. To enhance the antifouling property of PVA hydrogels, a PVA hydrogel was grafted with chondroitin sulfate (CdS) through a two-step reaction in this work. The surface chemical compositions, surface morphology and thermal property of the hydrogel were characterized by attenuated total reflectance FTIR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. It was confirmed that CdS was successfully grafted onto the surface of the PVA hydrogel through a two-step method. After grafting with p(GMA-CdS) (GMA: glycidyl methacrylate), both the thermal and mechanical properties of the PVA hydrogel became weaker and the PVA hydrogel became hydrophilic. The biocompatibility of the PVA-g-p(GMA-CdS) hydrogel could be considered as non-cytotoxic according to ISO 10993-5:2009. The antifouling property of the PVA-g-p(GMA-CdS) hydrogel, namely its anti-protein adsorption and anti-cell adhesion, was significantly improved due to surface hydration, steric exclusion effect and charge surface. The anti-protein adsorption of the PVA-g-p(GMA-CdS) hydrogel increased by about 33·48% in comparison with that of the PVA hydrogel and the anti-cell adhesion increased by about 67·92%. Overall, the PVA-g-p(GMA-CdS) hydrogel is an ideal biomaterial candidate for artificial corneas.