Improved blood compatibility of DLC coated polymeric material

There is currently an increasing interest in the use of DLC (diamond like carbon) films in biomedical applications. These investigations making use of DLC in the biomedical area indicate its attractive properties. In this study, we succeeded in depositing DLC on polymer substrates and found the best conditions and method for this application. We evaluated the blood compatibility of polycarbonate substrates coated by DLC (PC-DLC) under different conditions by using epifluorescent video microscopy (EVM) combined with a parallel plate flow chamber. Segmented polyurethane (SPU), which has been used to fabricate medical devices including an artificial heart, and proven to have acceptable blood compatibility, was compared with polycarbonate substrates coated with DLC film. The EVM system measured platelet adhesion on the surface of the DLC, by using whole human blood containing Mepacrine labeled platelets perfuse at a wall shear rate of 100 s(-1) at 1 min intervals for a period of 20 min. PC-DLC demonstrated that Tecoflex showed higher complement activation than PC-DLC. There were significant differences between the PC-DLC substrates. On the basis of these results, it is recommended for use as a coating material in implantable blood contacting devices such as artificial hearts, pacemakers, and other devices. This DLC seems to be a promising candidate for biomaterials applications and merits further investigation.