Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was grafted with dopamine to increase its adhesion force to metal surface. Nitinol plate surfaces were then modified by coating with PAA-g-dopamine. To synthesize PAA-g-dopamine, PAA was first activated by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) to form PAA-NHS. Dopamine was then copolymerized with PAA-NHS in an aqueous medium at pH 8.5. We propose to increase the adhesion of adhesive PAA-g-dopamine on nitinol to improve its durability. In this article, we studied wettability, surface elemental composition, and surface morphology. Biocompatibility was also assessed by L929 fibroblast cells in vitro. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013