Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
5.3. Model “bioactive” polymers
5.3.1.
Introduction
Polymers functionalized by SO
3
-
and/or COO
-
groups have been
synthesized by radical polymerization [BEL 00, HEL 02]. These
synthesized “model” polymers have helped highlight and understand
the biological activities which they induce and also establish a
relationship between the biological properties and synthesized
macromolecular structures.
The method used for synthesizing the first model bioactive
polymers was radical synthesis through homopolymerization and/or
copolymerization of chosen monomers:
1) sodium styrene sulfonate (NaSS) and/or methacrylic acid (MA)
for anionic functions and the biological activities they can exhibit
[MIG 88a, b, c];
2) other monomers for their mechanical or shaping properties such
as vinyl chloride (VC), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and
hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA).
The aim of these works is to obtain macromolecules and/or
materials exhibiting functional groups of interest (SO
3
-
and/or COO
-
)
and exhibiting mechanical properties which would be useful for future
applications such as poly vinylchloride (PVC) to prepare heparin-like
tubing, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or silicone to elaborate
intraocular lenses (IOL), but most importantly which would enable the
control of the biological response when they are placed in a biological
environment:
- pure proteins: fibronectin (Fn), fibrinogen (Fg), albumin (Alb), or
a mix;
- plasma or serum depleted or not in Fn and vitronectin (Vn);
