Functionalization of medical device surfaces via photocatalytic reactions

The ability to tailor polymer surface properties has become a very important and challenging area of science. Most medical devices are constituted of polymeric materials, since they offer a great choice in terms of compromise between processability, properties, and cost. Different polymers are available, with specific mechanical properties and ease to process with known manufacturing technologies. The behavior of these materials with respect to blood, pharmacologic or physiologic solutions, different cells of the human body depends on the chemical structure of the polymer itself and on the conditions and technologies used to process it. Therefore, we focused our research on the development of a technique for modifying the surface properties of a balloon catheter without impacting on its main intended use properties nor on the production processes. Surface modification via photochemical reaction with aromatic azides was successfully performed and monitored by XPS and dynamic contact angle. Reactions of different types of aromatic azides have revealed that the new surface properties depend on the substituent groups present on their structures. The balloons modified according to the present experimental work, can be advantageously used in order to improve the balloon catheter performances in terms of lubricity and biocompatibility.