Construction of hydrophilic surfaces with poly(vinyl ether)s and their interfacial properties in water

Abstract: We studied the effect of polymer design on the interfacial structure and physical properties of polymer films in water based on a poly(vinyl ether) platform with hydrophilic side-chains to construct bioinert interfaces. Initially, we explored how to prepare hydrophilic surfaces using poly(vinyl ether)s, utilizing the preferential segregation of a rubbery component in a diblock copolymer film with a glassy component, crosslinking a hydrophilic polymer, and designing an interfacial modifier with a special architecture. Characterizing the interfacial structure and physical properties of the obtained polymer films in water revealed that a small difference in the side-chain structure significantly impacts the resultant interfacial properties of the polymers, leading to excellent blood compatibility. Furthermore, we demonstrate that swelling behaviors, which are related to chain dynamics, at the water interface play a key role in determining bioinert properties.