Prevention of erythrocyte adhesion onto porous surfaces by fluid perfusion

Correlation of antithrombogenicity and heat treatment for layer-by-layer self-assembled polyelectrolyte films

Antithrombogenic films with high durability were fabricated in a wet process. Antithrombogenicity was achieved with polyelectrolyte multilayer thin film prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol)-poly(acrylic acid) (PVA-PAA) blends, deposited in alternate layers with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). Film durability, assessed by abrasion resistance and water resistance, was enhanced by forming cross-links via amide bonds induced by heat treatment of the film. The film was found to be resistant to protein adsorption, as measured by the amount of fibrinogen adsorbed from an aqueous solution. The antithrombogenic efficacy was assessed in ex vivo experiments by the ability of stainless steel mesh, coated with the polyelectrolyte and inserted into a pig blood vessel, to inhibit thrombus formation. Mesh coated with the polyelectrolyte did not reduce blood flow over a period of 15 min, whereas with uncoated mesh blood flow stopped within 6 min because of blood vessel blockage by thrombus formation.

In vitro leukocyte adhesion to modified polyurethane surfaces: III. Effect of flow, fluid medium, and platelets on PMN adhesion

The operation of filters used to remove leukocytes from red cell concentrates may depend on the adhesion and mechanical trapping of leukocytes. If adhesion is a major component of filtration then filter materials which augment leukocyte adhesion will be useful. In previous leukocyte adhesion studies, done without flow, poly(ethyleneimene) (PEI) modified polyurethane (PU) films were shown to have greater adhesion when compared with unmodified PU. Since filtration is done under flow conditions, it was decided to study PMN adhesion at a number of flow rates using an established parallel plate flow cell. The influence of divalent cations, plasma and platelets were investigated in the presence of red cells, 40% Hematocrit. The number of adherent PMNs to the PEI modified films was always substantially higher than that for the unmodified ones when the shear rate was set at 30 s-1. When using Tyrode's solution containing albumin, with or without divalent cations, a maximum in PMN adhesion was found between the shear rates of 10 and 100 s-1. With Tyrode's solution containing albumin and with 10% (v/v) plasma in saline, the addition of platelets increased PMN adhesion when divalent cations were absent. Adhesion levels with 10% (v/v) plasma in saline were reduced when compared to Tyrode's solution containing albumin without divalent cations. These results support the use of filtration conditions where the concentration of plasma is reduced and the concentration of divalent cations is increased. Detailed evaluation of filter function with flow rate is also recommended. A cell adhesion promoting polymer coating, such as PEI, may be useful in improving filter efficiency.

Poly(ethyleneimine) modified filters for the removal of leukocytes from blood

Polyurethane membrane filters and filters coated with poly(ethyleneimine) were used to investigate the influence of leukocyte adhesion during filtration. Treatment of the filters with an aqueous solution of 1% (w/v) poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) led to the introduction of amine groups at the filter surfaces, as was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The modification procedure did not significantly change the porous structure in the filters, as was demonstrated by SEM and porometry. Using 14C-labeled poly(ethyleneimine) it was shown that nearly a complete coverage (approximately 0.1 mg/m2) was achieved that did not desorb from the filter surface during contact with blood plasma. When the filtration was carried out with purified leukocytes in the absence of red cells, platelets, and blood plasma, the number of cells removed by modified filters (> 95%) was significantly higher as compared to the removal with unmodified filters (approximately 80%). However, no significant differences between the filters were found when the filtration was performed with whole blood. This finding was unexpected, because it was shown before that immobilization of poly(ethyleneimine) on solid polyurethane film, surfaces promoted the adhesion of leukocytes from whole blood. Apparently, the adhesive properties of the PEI diminish during filtration. Filter coating of commercial leukocyte filters composed of polyester fibers also had no effect on the removal of leukocytes from whole blood. It was postulated that morphological factors, such as filter shape, roughness, tortuosity, and porosity rather than the physicochemical properties of the filter surface influence cell adhesion to the filter surface, and through that the filtration process.

Materials for enhancing cell adhesion by immobilization of cell-adhesive peptide

Materials to enhance cell adhesion were synthesized by surface integration of peptide, Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser(RGDS), which is an active-site sequence of cell-adhesive proteins. Polystyrene film was glow-discharged and graft-copolymerized with acrylic acid. Then the peptide was immobilized to the poly(acrylic acid) grafts by using water-soluble carbodiimide. The cell-adhesive activity of the RGDS-immobilized film increased with increasing amount of immobilized peptide, and approached the activity of fibronectin(FN)-immobilized film. The RGDS-immobilized film was more stable against heat treatment and pH variation than the FN-immobilized film. In addition, the RGDS-immobilized film enhanced cell growth more strongly than the FN-immobilized film.