[In vitro study of C3a des Arg produced by plasma incubation with blood purification materials]

This study was performed to evaluate the degree of complement C3 activation of five biomedical polymers (cellulose acetate (CA), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polysulphone (PS), polyethersulphone (PES), sulphonated polyethersulphone(PES-SO3) which are used to make hemofilters. The concentration of the activation derivative C3a des Arg was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) in human plasma after incubation with these five polymers for 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The experimental results indicated that the presence of polymers caused an increase in C3a des Arg. The potential to activate complement C3 decreased in sequence of CA, PMMA, PES, PS and PES-SO3. CA activated the most complement C3. PES-SO3 activated the least complement C3, and the concentration of C3a des Arg decreased with the increase in sulphonation degree. The investigation demonstrates that with good biocompatibility PES is a promising material to make biocompatible hemofilters. Furthermore, it indicates that PES containing sulphonate groups can achieve a marked reduction in complement activation and supports the sulphonation as a means of improving the biocompatibility of PES for blood purification application. RIA is a reliable and precise quantitative determination of human C3a des Arg and is suitable for testing the activation of complement of various synthetic materials that are utilized or to be utilized in the medical field.