Surface characteristics and biofunctionality of a novel high-performance, hydrophilic Jeffamine-added fluoro-containing polyimide for biomedical applications

A brand-new class of Jeffamine-modified fluoro-containing polyimide (6FPI-J_x series, where x ranges from 10, 20, and 30 % by weight) was developed in this study. The existing pristine fluoro-containing polyimide (6FPI) is a flexible and high-performance polymer with low surface energy for advanced engineering applications. Although it has been considered a promising biomaterial for its good blood compatibility, it has known to be toxic to normal cells. Here, we modified 6FPI [with –C (CF₃)₂- group on backbone] with a hydrophilic diamine monomer, Jeffamine, denoted as 6FPI-J_x, where x is the molar percentage of the total diamines. The newly synthesized 6FPI-J_x series was systematically characterized in terms of surface properties included surface texture, chemistry, potential, and charging. Besides, the 6FPI-J_x copolymer exhibited good mechanical and stability as pristine 6FPI. With the addition of Jeffamine (x = 10 %), 6FPI-J₁₀ displayed considerably improved blood and cell compatibility compared to 6FPI, which was explainable as a combined effect of morphological texture and chemical environment of resulting surface. The new class of 6FPI-J_x exhibited excellent solubility toward a number of organic solvents, which rendered the 6FPI-J₁₀ a great potential candidate as a biocompatible coating for implantable medical devices and also for potential therapeutic applications.