Aliphatic Polyurethane Films Based on Hexamethylene Diisocyanate and Saccharides for Biocompatible Transparent Coating on Optic Medical Devices

Polyurethanes are widely used in daily life, from the textile industry to medical applications. In this study, a biocompatible and transparent coating from polyethylene glycol-based polyurethanes including different type of saccharide (xylose as monosaccharide, sucrose as disaccharide, or starch as polysaccharide) is prepared. Prepared optically transparent polyurethanes are characterized with different instrumental analysis techniques and contact-angle measurements. Thermogravimetric analysis data allow understanding that the synthesized saccharide based polyurethanes are resistant to high temperatures, which means that medical devices can be easily coated with one of the saccharide-based polymers during the manufacturing process. The study results also show that synthesized polyurethane samples having a different kind of saccharides present high biocompatibility and transparency properties via In vitro cytotoxicity analysis and optic transparency tests. For xylose, sucrose, or starch containing polyurethanes, the tranmittance values are 97.72%, 85.20%, and 89.23%, respectively. In addition, scanning electron microscope images show that the samples also have smooth surfaces which can be used for proper coating of medical devices. Consequently, this manuscript addresses synthesis and characterization of the optically transparent polyurethanes based on specific saccharides for biocompatible and transparent surfaces especially in optic medical devices such as colonoscopy applications and laparoscopic detection probes.