In Vivo Evaluation of a MPC Polymer Coated Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist System

Abstract

The aim of this study was the evaluation of the thrombogenicity and the biocompatibility of the SunMedical EVAHEART left ventricular assist system (LVAS) coated with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) polymer compared to a diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating. Four calves were implanted with the MPC polymer-coated LVAS. Eight calves were implanted with DLC coated LVAS. The thrombogenicity and biocompatibility of the pumps were evaluated. At explant, 60.0 +/- 37.2% (5-85%) of the pump surface area was still coated with MPC polymer after the duration of 45.0 +/- 32.0 days. In 1 out of 4 MPC and 2 out of 8 DLC coated pumps, there was a very small amount of thrombus around the seal ring; otherwise the blood contacting surfaces were free of thrombus. Major organs were normal except for a few lesions in kidneys from both groups. The MPC polymer coated EVAHEART LVAS seems to have low thrombogenicity and high biocompatibility similar to the DLC coated system. The current study demonstrated that the MPC polymer coating shows great promise for being used as an antithrombogenic substrate for the LVAS due to its ease of application, significant cost benefit, and reduction in anticoagulation therapy in acute postoperative period.

Development of a Disposable Maglev Centrifugal Blood Pump Intended for One‐Month Support in Bridge‐to‐Bridge Applications: In Vitro and Initial In Vivo Evaluation

“…We were particularly gratified by the lack of thrombus formation inside any of the implanted pumps.This result likely owes to the maglev noncontact mechanism together with the MPC polymer applied to the blood-contacting surfaces of the pump. The MPC polymer, a phospholipid polymer which was originally designed to resemble the surface of a biomembrane (19), has been proved to reduce platelet and complement activation, and protein absorption (21,22), and its antithrombogenicity and low platelet activation in implantable VADs have been reported (23,24). Although we found small renal infarction in Cases 5 and 6, we speculated these might have been caused by the thrombus generated inside the outflow cannula, not in the pump.…”

The prevention of peritendinous adhesions by a phospholipid polymer hydrogel formed in situ by spontaneous intermolecular interactions

“…Many synthetic materials for adhesion resistance have failed because they stimulated inflammatory responses or allowed ingrowth of adhesions around the materials [10][11][12][13][14]16], however, the bioinert MPC polymer hydrogel can overcome these problems even in clinical settings. In fact, MPC grafting onto the surface of other medical devices has already been shown to suppress biological reactions even when the devices are in contact with living organisms, and it is now clinically used on the surfaces of intravascular stents, soft contact lenses, continuous flow left ventricular assist system, and artificial lungs under the authorization of the Food and Drug Administration of the United States [34][35][36]. In orthopedics as well, we have reported that surface grafting of the MPC on the PE liner extended the longevity of artificial joints by eliminating periprosthetic osteolysis in the surrounding tissues, because the MPC-grafted wear particles were biologically inert and did not cause the subsequent bone resorptive responses [37][38][39].…”

Cell membrane-inspired phospholipid polymers for developing medical devices with excellent biointerfaces

“…To improve the blood compatibility of titanium alloy surfaces, they have been coated with MPC polymers [144]. Snyder and coworkers assessed the blood compatibility of the MPC polymer (PMB37)-coated EVAHEART R VAD (Sun Medical Technology Research Co., Suwa, Japan), through animal testing ( figure 14(a)) [145,146]. Circulating platelet CD62P expression and annexin V binding were significantly lower in animals receiving MPC polymer-coated components compared with components coated with diamond-like carbon (DLC), starting from day 21 and 24 after the operation, respectively, as shown in figure 14(b).…”