Design and characterization of PEGylated terpolymer biomaterials

A terpolymer copolymerized from hexyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, and poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) was synthesized. Polymers containing 0–25 mol % PEGMA were studied. As the mole fraction of PEGMA in the polymer chains increased, the material becomes more hydrophilic as observed by a decrease in the contact angle of water (81°–68°) and an increase in the equilibrium water absorption (0.7–237 wt %). Furthermore, the material shows nonfouling interfacial properties through resistance to protein adsorption and cellular attachment. A total of 1.2 μg/cm2 fibrinogen, 18,000 HUVECs/cm2, and 3,000,000 platelets/cm2 adsorbed or adhered on non‐PEGylated materials, whereas very low amounts of protein or cells were observed on materials containing ≥15 mol % PEGMA. Being thermoplastic, the polymer can be processed postsynthesis. To illustrate the processing capabilities of the material, polymer solutions were electrospun into nonwoven fibrous scaffold, which also retained their nonfouling character. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2010.