Research in Biomaterials Could Prevent Blood Clotting

One of the largest issues with implanted biomaterial devices is the almost immediate absorption of plasma proteins into the surface of the device. Blood platelets begin to adhere to these proteins which causes thrombosis and in many cases, the failure of the device. Many of the polymeric biomaterials that have desirable mechanical properties inadequately resist protein adhesion.

Research being done by Dr. Melissa Grunlan here at Texas A&M has shown that this failure to resist protein adhesion is due in part to the hydrophobicity of these materials, and that if you graft a hydrophilic polymer, in this case PEO or PEG, onto the surface of the hydrophobic biomaterial, it decreases protein adhesion and thus decreases frequency of thrombosis when using the device in vivo. Her research has been specifically aimed at the effect of using siloxane based tethers of variable length when grafting the PEO/PEG to surfaces. These tethers allow the substrate to maintain its properties while also providing the long-term surface functionalities from the PEO/PEG.

I found this article interesting because I have always been fascinated by polymers and their uses in biomedical engineering. The ability to alter the surface chemistry of materials that are put in the body can open the door to many opportunities for biomedical devices that would otherwise be impractical due to the consequences of their interacting with bodily fluids and cells.

http://biomed.tamu.edu/biomaterials/publications/murthy_biomat_2009.pdf