Structural characterisation of a new heparinisable material based on ethylene/vinyl alcohol/vinyl acetate terpolymer and a poly(amido-amine)

Partially hydrolyzed ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymers (EVALVA) were modified by covalent binding of a heparin-complexing poly(amido-amine) (N2LL). The physicochemical characterisation of the starting and modified materials was carried out through thermal analysis, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, mechanical tensile test, contact angle, potentiometric measurements, water uptake and FT-IR spectroscopic measurements. The behaviour of this material in both the dry and the wet state was stressed, evidencing the different orientation of the chemical groups, which are buried or exposed according to whether its nature is hydrophilic or hydrophobic. The material was heparinised, and the presence of heparin was revealed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and FT-IR.