Abstract
In this study, a novel hemocompatible coating on stainless steel substrates was prepared by electrochemically copolymerizing 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) with graphene oxide (GO), polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), or heparin (HEP) on SUS316L stainless steel, producing an anti-fouling (anti-protein adsorption and anti-platelet adhesion) surface to avoid the restenosis of blood vessels. The negative charges of GO, PSS, and HEP repel negatively charged proteins and platelets to achieve anti-fouling and anti-clotting. The results show that the anti-fouling capability of the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/PSS coating is similar to that of the PEDOT/HEP coating. The anti-fouling capability of PEDOT/GO is higher than those of PEDOT/HEP and PEDOT/PSS. The reason for this is that GO exhibits negatively charged functional groups (COO−). The highest anti-fouling capability was found with the PEDOT/GO/HEP coating, indicating that electrochemical copolymerization of PEDOT with GO and HEP enhances the anti-fouling capability. Furthermore, the biocompatibility of the PEDOT coatings was tested with 3T3 cells for 1–5 days. The results show that all PEDOT composite coatings exhibited biocompatibility. The blood clotting time (APTT) of PEDOT/GO/HEP was prolonged to 225 s, much longer than the 40 s of pristine SUS316L stainless steel (the control), thus greatly improving the anti-blood-clotting capability of cardiovascular stents.
Highlights
Cardiovascular disease has evolved as a health problem and the main cause of death [1,2,3].Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common disease in the modern world, causing about2 in every 10 deaths [4]
The SEM images (Figure 1b–e) revealed that PEDOT polymer composites were deposited on the SUS316L plates
The surface roughness of the thin films deposited in this study varied considerably because the electrochemical polymerization processes deposited thin films at a fast rate
Summary
Cardiovascular disease has evolved as a health problem and the main cause of death [1,2,3]. The materials for cardiovascular stents are usually 316L stainless steel, tantalum, and CoCr alloys [7]. Polymers 2019, 11, 1520 rate similar to that of traditional coronary stents [14]. The restenosis rate of unmodified cardiovascular stents is about 25% [15]. The restenosis rate was reduced by using electrochemical polymerization on the surface of an SUS316L stent. This coating was composed of EDOT, GO, PSS, and HEP. The resultant nanohybrids composed of conductive polymers (PEDOT), 2D materials (GO), and biopolymers (HEP) show excellent hemo- and bio-compatibility and would be applicable to improving cardiovascular stents
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