Z. Krtouš1, J. Kousal1, L. Hanyková1, Z. Kolářová-Rašková2, J. Sedlaříková2,3, I. Krakovský1, H. Biederman1

1) Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Prague, V Holešovičkách 2, 180 00, Prague, Czech Republic

2) Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Centre of Polymer Systems, Zlín, třída Tomáše Bati 5678, 760 01, Zlin, Czech Republic

3) Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Faculty of Technology, Vavrečkova 275, 76001 Zlin, Czech Republic

The Plasma Assisted Thermal Vapour Deposition (PAVTD) has been used for the preparation of thin films of Poly-Lactic acid (PLA)-like plasma polymers. The PAVTD uses the polymer precursor prepared by classical chemistry, which is heated and evaporated in the crucible under low pressure. The auxiliary RF plasma is used for the repolymerization of these oligomers. The uniqueness of PAVTD lies in the usage of relatively long (up to 100 monomeric units) precursor molecules. This leads to interesting competition between fragmentation (top-down process) and repolymerization (bottom-up process). Using a combination of XPS and NMR data, an approximate chemical structure of the plasma polymers was obtained. These results suggest the presence of a block-like structure of the regular classical polymer and newly formed hydrocarbon plasma polymer. By changing the plasma power, the ratio between these two compounds can be modified, which lead to the transition between sol-gel like structure. This can be used for the control of drug release systems.