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The implications of nitrogen plasma exposure of a semi-aromatic polyimide (PI) and a fully aromatic one, was studied in regard to gold adhesion for biomedical purposes. The hydrophobicity of the analyzed PI films, estimated by the contact angle method, was influenced by both plasma treatment and gold sputtering. Comparative evaluation of the chemical binding states and surface chemical composition was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for pristine, plasma treated, and metallized PI films. The appearance of the polar functional groups upon plasma exposure facilitates binding of the gold on the PI surface. Hemocompatibility was theoretically evaluated based on surface tension data. The observed characteristics of the metallized samples could be useful for making components for blood contacting devices, such as blood pressure or blood glucose detection.

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