Biodegradable Microfluidic Device: Hydrolysis, Decomposition and Surface Modification

Abstract

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biodegradable and biocompatible aliphatic polyester whose lactic acid monomers are derived from renewable resources such as corn and sugar beet. As a thermal plastic it can be processed through compounding and injection. As such, we have developed a microfludic device using PLA aimed at blood dialysis application. To quantify the degradation of PLA, its hydrolysis at different pH value was studied. To study the bioresorbable property of these fabricated devices, its decomposition was tested by morphology observation and weight change measurements after embedding in soil under simulated environmental conditions. Upon contact with a hydrophobic surface, platelets and prothrombin are always activated to attach to the surface, resulting in blood clot. This would block the blood flow through the dialysis channels in the microfluidic device. To improve the hydrophilicity, hence the blood compatibility, chemical grafting of a hydrophilic polymer, poly(ethylene oxide) methacrylate (PEGmA), onto the surface of PLA microfluidic device was carried out and the changes in hydrophilicity was monitored through measuring the water contact angle. Our results indicate that chemical grafting of PEGmA significantly improves the hydrophilicity of the device surface.

Surface reconstruction and hemocompatibility improvement of a phosphorylcholine end‐capped poly(butylene succinate) coating

“…These products can allow new tissues to grow naturally and to take over their load‐bearing or other biological functions without any of the potential chronic problems associated with the presence of biostable implants . However, the highly hydrophobic and thrombogenic properties limit their applications as medical implants or drug carriers . Because cells are inherently sensitive to local mesoscale, microscale, and nanoscale patterns of chemistry and topography, controlling both the chemical functionality and topographical scales of materials is important for research in cell biology, tissue engineering, and medical science …”