Blood interactions with plasticised poly (vinyl chloride): influence of surface modification

Surface modification of plasticised poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC), with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) as plasticiser, for the improvement of blood compatibility in potential clinical use such as cardiopulmonary bypass was achieved by heparinisation. The influence of surface modification on blood compatibility was assessed in terms of the influence on fibrinogen and factor XII adsorption in vitro, and the generation of thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) and the complement component C3a, in vitro and ex vivo. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) was used to characterise the heparinised surface in order to correlate the surface properties with the blood response. Results indicate that at the plasticised PVC surface there is a higher content of heparin than that of the PVC and the DEHP content is lower than that present at the surface of standard plasticised PVC. The blood compatibility assessment confirms the importance of surface modification for the improvement of blood compatibility.