| abstract |
Porous polymeric materials are hardened by a process of plasma-annealing, involving treatment of at least one surface with a gas plasma formed by glow discharge through a gas containing a saturated alkane or an acetylene. Plasma-annealed porous polymers with reduced adsorption toward proteins were obtained by exposure to a glow discharge through a gas mixture containing an alkane such as methane in combination with oxygen, air, or a hydrophilic unsaturated organic monomer. For example, porous polysulfone sheet and hollow fiber were plasma-annealed by treatment with a gas plasma containing methane and air or acrylic acid with simultaneous deposition of a hydrophilic polymerizate thereon. |