| Abstrakt: |
A reactive form of a polymeric carbohydrate molecule, dialdehyde starch (DAS), physically adsorbed on polystyrene (PS) which acts as an alternative to chemical modification of the surface has been evaluated by XPS and IR. The DAS binding sites were assayed by chemical derivatization with the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) probe molecule. The DNPH assay demonstrated that the DAS coating was effectively grafted onto the PS with suitable reactive sites available for chemical coupling to amine-containing molecules, such as the synthetic peptide GRGDSPK, which contains the RGD cell adhesion peptide. The effects of low gamma and electron-beam (E-beam) treatments used for sterilization purposes on the surface chemistry of the DAS coating were also studied. The integrity and the identity of the DAS coating on PS are maintained on exposure to either 1 Mrad gamma or E-beam radiation. However, at higher doses (2 Mrad), the aldehyde carbonyl group in the DAS coating is substantially transformed to the corresponding carboxylic acid. |
