[Adhesion of blood platelets to electric-featuring polymers]

The authors studied the effect of electric potential arising on the plastic surface upon the blood clotting process. The study was performed according to the Breddin method. The study concerned fluorosilicone rubber, fluoroplast, polyester, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride with various surface potentials. The authors found that the negatively charged blood platelets adhere to negatively charged plastic surfaces only to a low extent and undergo no disintegration and agglomeration. To the surfaces of the same plastics being electrically neutral, only small aggregates of blood platelets adhere. On the other hand, on the positively charged surfaces the accumulation of blood platelets takes place with concurrent aggregation and disintegration, thus initiating the thrombus formation. The authors observed the intensity of these changes using blood platelet adhesion index and fluorescence microscope.