Synthesis and Hydrophilic Lubricating Properties of Acrylate-based Amphiphilic Block Copolymers

To improve the surface hydrophilic lubricating properties of poly (vinyl chloride)(PVC) medical products, a series of amphiphilic block copolymers, comprising of hydrophobic methyl （meth）acrylate polymer block and hydrophilic poly (N,N-dimethylacrylamide) block, were synthesized via iodine transfer polymerization. Block copolymer solutions were coated onto PVC substrates, and the hydrophilicity, lubricity, and biocompatibility of the resulting coatings were investigated. It indicates that block copolymers can formed well adhered coatings at the surface of PVC sheet and achieve enhanced hydrophilicity, protein adsorption resistance and lubricating performance in aqueous environments. The above performances show little dependence on the composition and ratio of the hydrophobic blocks, while primarily determine by the length of the hydrophilic segment. Coatings prepared from block copolymers with longer hydrophilic blocks can form dense hydration layers and consequently exhibit superior overall performance. The coating prepared from the block copolymer with PMMA number average mass of 42 kDa and PDMAAm number average mass of 22 kDa exhibit a water contact angle of 13.3°, friction coefficient of 0.03 (soaked in water, shear rate <1.0 s⁻¹), abrasion resistance of more than 300 cycles and 1/10 Bovine Serum Albumin absorption to that of PVC.