Facile grafting of bioactive cellulose derivatives onto PVC surfaces

Bioactive methyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose were successfully grafted onto PVC films using a two-step pathway. PVC surface was first modified with isothiocyanate in DMSO/water medium. Then, unmodified polysaccharides were directly grafted onto the thiocyanated surface in acetonitrile/DMSO mixture, in presence of DBTL as catalyst. The polysaccharide grafting onto the PVC surface was evidenced by contact angle measurements, AFM and XPS.