Artificial Blood Vessel Coating Prevents Blood Clots

In a new study, researchers from ITMO University detail the development of a new artificial blood vessel coating that resists blood clot formation.

The investigators used the coating—which they describe as a thin film of nanorads combined with a substance that activates a clot-busting enzyme—to coat the inner surface of a vascular graft, generating a stable concentration of plasmin, an enzyme that dissolves blood clots. In conducting several experiments to test the film-coated grafts’ properties, the authors found that clots began to dissolve and leak through the graft. For instance, the team grew artificial clots made of blood plasma mixed with thrombin for 1 of the tests, and placed the clots inside the graft.
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The authors note that this coating would essentially destroy clots at the formation stage, which would virtually guarantee a clear flow of blood in the graft, and would improve upon the latest types of grafts and stents, and would last longer as well.

Thrombosis in artificial blood vessels is a “key problem of many patients, and occurs in more than 30% of cases,” says Dr. Vladimir Vinogradov, head of the laboratory of solution chemistry of advanced materials and technologies at ITMO University, and co-author of the study.

“The only situation which helps to partially solve this problem is long-term anticoagulant therapy,” says Vinogradov, noting that the study findings are not limited to artificial blood vessels, but extend to include any kind of implant. “The potential development of drug-entrapped grafts, as was represented in this paper, could lead to [eliminating the] problem of thrombosis, and avoiding harmful anticoagulant treatment.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Chapurina Y, Vinogradov V, et al. Synthesis of thrombolytic sol-gel coatings: toward drug-entrapped vascular grafts. J Med Chem. 2015.