COMPARISON OF POLYSACCHARIDE AND POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL) COATINGS FOR REDUCTION OF PROTEIN ADSORPTION ON POLYSTYRENE SURFACES

There has been much recent interest in the use of poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEGs) for a variety of biotechnical applications. In the present work we have immobilized several cellulose derivatives and dextran on polystyrene surfaces and have measured the extent of fibrinogen adsorption onto the coated surfaces. Immobilization was achieved by adsorption onto clean polystyrene and by covalent linkage of oxidized polysaccharides to polyethylenimine which was ionically bound to polystyrene. Covalently bound polysaccharides, and adsorbed polysaccharides that are strongly held, compare well with poly(ethylene glycol) in preventing fibrinogen adsorption. The same polymers were coupled to polystyrene latex particles to permit examination by analytical microparticle electrophoresis. This investigation suggests that adsorbed polysaccharides form thicker layers than do covalently bound polysaccharides. Despite the polysaccharides being bound at many points along the polymer chain while PEG is bound only at the polymer terminus, the functional equivalence of polysaccharide and PEG coatings is of significance in interpreting the protein-rejecting ability of polymer-modified surfaces.