ABSTRACT
The biocompatible hydrogel was fabricated under suitable conditions with natural dextran and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the reaction materials. The oligomer (Dex-AI) was firstly synthesized with dextran and allylisocyanate (AI). This Dex-AI was then reacted with poly (ethyleneglycoldiacrylate) (PEGDA) under the mass ratio of 4∶6 to get hydrogel (DP) with the maximum water absorption of 810%. This hydrogel was grafted onto the surface of medical catheter via diphenyl ketone treatment under ultraviolet (UV) initiator. The surface contact angle became lower from (97 ± 6.1)° to (25 ± 4.2)° after the catheter surface was grafted with hydrogel DP, which suggests that the catheter possesses super hydrophilicity with hydrogel grafting. The evaluation after they were implanted into ICR rats subcutaneously verified that this catheter had less serious inflammation and possessed better histocompatibility comparing with the untreated medical catheter. Therefore, it could be concluded that hydrogel grafting is a good technology for patients to reduce inflammation due to catheter implantation, esp. for the case of retention in body for a relative long time.