Modified polytetrafluoroethylene: Indium 111-labeled platelet deposition on carbon-lined and high-porosity polytetrafluoroethylene grafts

Abstract

Platelet accumulation on carbon-lined (CL) and high-porosity (HP) polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts was investigated in vivo. In experiment 1, 20 CL grafts and 20 control PTFE grafts, each 5 cm in length and 4 mm in diameter, were interposed into both carotid and femoral arteries of 10 dogs. In experiment 2, 12 HP grafts (90 microns mean internodal distance) and 12 control PTFE grafts were implanted in six dogs. Indium 111-labeled platelets were injected intravenously and the grafts were retrieved 48 hours later. Radioactivity of the grafts and a control segment of the carotid artery was counted. A graft platelet accumulation index (GPAI) was calculated as the ratio of emission from the graft compared to that from the control segment. The GPAI of the CL graft was significantly less than the GPAI of the control graft in both the carotid (control 29.7 +/- 5.46, CL 22.3 +/- 6.55; n = 9 [p < 0.05]) and the femoral arteries (control 30.7 +/- 9.65, CL 22.0 +/- 6.59; n = 9 [p < 0.05]). There was no significant difference in GPAI between the control and HP grafts in the carotid arteries (control 30.6 +/- 11.8, HP 31.5 +/- 9.71; n = 6) and in the femoral arteries (control 31.5 +/- 7.88, HP 34.0 +/- 4.97; n = 6). Carbon lining decreases platelet accumulation on PTFE grafts in the early postoperative period, and HP grafts do not exhibit increased platelet uptake.