Abstract: New and improved lubrifying coatings for reducing the coefficients of friction of surfaces on medical devices include hydrophilic copolymers derived monoethylenically-unsaturated monomers including some monomers having pendant primary amine functionality and some monomers having pendant tertiary amine functionality. The lubricious hydrogel coatings are covalently bondable to epoxy functionalized surfaces on the medical equipment to provide firmly adherent hydrogel coatings that are slippery when wet. Epoxy functionalized surfaces are provided by epoxy functional or epoxy group containing silane coupling agents. The pendant tertiary amine moieties are readily convertible at alkaline pH to quaternary ammonium cations to which anionic anti-thrombogenic agents may be bonded. Three dimensional copolymer matrices may also be provided as coatings on the surfaces by crosslinking the copolymers before or after attachment to the surface being treated.

Abstract: The invention provides graft, prothesis, orthopaedic structures, implants and like body replacement parts which are constituted of synthetic collagen fibers, an embodiment of which is a tendon or a ligament prosthesis, graft or implants. These body parts have a combination of very useful properties, particularly high tensile strength combined with biocompatability.