Impact of the Hydration States of Polymers on Their Hemocompatibility for Medical Applications: A Review

Water has a key role in the functioning of all biological systems, it mediates many biochemical reactions, as well as other biological activities such as material biocompatibility. Water is often considered as an inert solvent, however at the molecular level, it shows different behavior when sorbed onto surfaces like polymeric implants. Three states of water have been recognized: non-freezable water, which does not freeze even at −100 °C; intermediate water, which freezes below 0 °C; and, free water, which freezes at 0 °C like bulk water. This review describes the different states of water and the techniques for their identification and quantification, and analyzes their relationship with hemocompatibility in polymer surfaces. Intermediate water content higher than 3 wt % is related to better hemocompatibility for poly(ethylene glycol), poly(meth)acrylates, aliphatic carbonyls, and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) surfaces. Therefore, characterizing water states in addition to water content is key for polymer selection and material design for medical applications.