Activation of complement in human serum by polyurethane having PEO-PTMO-PEO as soft segment

Complement activation induced by segmented polyurethane and polyurethaneurea was studied. The polymers were synthesized from ABA-type triblock copolyether as a prepolymer, where A represents poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) and B represents poly (tetramethylene oxide). The PEO contents in the triblock copolyethers were 0, 31 and 62 mol%. The whole complement in serum was activated via the classical and the alternative pathways. The contribution of the fourth complement component (i.e. the classical pathway) became larger with increasing PEO content in the polymers, due to the increased hydrophilicity of the polymer surface. The activation of the alternative pathway was affected by the concentration of NH groups and the degree of swelling of the polymer.