In the present invention method, the surface of articles made of acrylic polymers and methacrylic polymers are converted into thin biomimeticlayers by using the process involving at least the following two steps:

(a) The polymer surface is contacted, in the presence of water and for a predetermined reaction time necessary to form a continuous surface layer thinner than about 500 microns, with a solution containing one or more tetraalkylammonium hydroxides of the general formula: R₁ R₂R₃ R₄ N⁺ OH^-

where R₁, R₂, R₃, R₄ are the alkyl substituents, in which the sum of the number of carbon atoms is equal to or larger than 8 but smaller than 45; and,

(b) The article is removed from the aqueous reaction solution and excess of tetraalkylammonium hydroxide is removed from the polymer surface by washing the polymer with a liquid miscible with the tetraalkylammonium hydroxide.

Inventors:   Stoy, Patrick (Princeton, NJ) 

Application Number: 08/966343

Publication Date: 08/17/1999