NOVEL ANTI-THROMBOTIC COATINGS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICAL DEVICES

Abstract

Hemolysis has been a life-threatening complication caused by mechanical shear stress imposed by cardiopulmonary medical devices to blood. To reduce it, superhydrophobic material has been proven to show reduction in hemolysis by introducing slip flow to blood. However, functional durability of these materials is limited as high fluid pressure leads to loss of air plastron and slip flow capabilities. Our proposal for this challenge is by using porous superhydrophobic material that allows control of pore air pressure to preserve the slip flow of the surface by maintaining the integrity of the air plastron. Two materials that are used for these experiments are porous titanium foam and PTFE foam. Both materials are tested for their wetting capabilities, durability, hemocompatibility, and drag reducing capabilities. From these series of test, superhydrophobic PTFE foam has shown potential to be used as a drag reducing material for lining of medical device that have contact with blood.