In this paper the in vitro biological properties are presented for three epoxy networks based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A epoxy prepolymer cured with aliphatic amines, namely triethylenetetramine (TETA), 1-(2-aminoethyl) piperazine (AEP) and isophoronediamine (IPD). The biological interactions between the fully-cured epoxy materials and blood were studied by in vitro methods. Research on the protein adsorption, platelet adhesion and thrombus formation is presented using a UV/VIS spectrometer and SEM analysis. Studies of protein adsorption onto polymeric surfaces showed that the three epoxy materials adsorbed more albumin than fibrinogen. Studies about platelet adhesion and thrombus formation of two epoxy polymers indicated that AEP and IPD network exhibits good hemocompatible behavior. The epoxy materials revealed no signs of cytotoxicity to Chinese hamster ovary cells, showing a satisfactory cytocompatibility. Therefore, the citotoxicity assays suggest that the three epoxy polymers are biocompatible materials.
Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A; aliphatic amines; protein adsorption; platelet adhesion; biocompatibility; citotoxicity
