Heparin-mimetic polyurethane hydrogels with anticoagulant, tunable mechanical property and controllable drug releasing behavior

In the present study, novel heparin-mimetic polyurethane hydrogels were prepared by introducing chemical crosslinked sulfated konjac glucomannan (SKGM). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicated that the introduction of SKGM and the increase of the molecular weight of diol segments could enlarge the pore sizes of the hydrogels. The swelling behavior corresponded with the SEM results, and the hydrogels could absorb more water after the modification. The modification also led to an improvement in the mechanical property. Meanwhile, the SKGM and the modified polyurethane hydrogels showed excellent hemocompatibility. The thromboplastin time of SKGM could reach up to 182.9   s. Gentamycin sulfate (GS) was used as a model drug to be loaded into the hydrogels, and the loading amount was increased ca. 50% after the introduction of SKGM, thus resulting in high bactericidal efficiency. The results indicated that the introduction of SKGM and the alternation in the diol’s molecular weight bestowed polyurethane hydrogels with promising properties of integrated blood-compatibility, mechanical properties and drug loading-releasing behavior. Therefore, the heparin-mimetic multifunctional polyurethane hydrogels have great potential to be used in biomedical applications.