Surfacemodification of polypropylene non-woven fabric membrane (NWF) for improving its hemocompatibilitywas developed by grafting a biomimic monomer, 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorycholine (MPC). The NWFmembrane surface was first activated by potassium peroxydisulfate to form hydroxyl groups, and then graftedwith MPC using ceric (IV) ammonium nitrate as the redox initiator. The surface chemical changes before andafter modification were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with an ATR unit (FTIR-ATR)and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); the water contact angle results showed the gradual changes inwettability from hydrophobic to hydrophilic surface. Meanwhile, the hemocompatibility of these samples wasalso evaluated by protein adsorption and platelet adhesion. These experimental results exhibited that the introductionof poly(MPC) onto the NWF membrane surfaces substantially improved their hemocompatibility. Thefeasibility and simplicity of this procedure may lead to potential applications of NWF membranes in biomedical
separation and blood purification.
