Nitric oxide producing coating mimicking endothelium function for multifunctional vascular stents

The continuous release of nitric oxide (NO) by the native endothelium of blood vessels plays a substantial role in the cardiovascular physiology, as it influences important pathways of cardiovascular homeostasis, inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation, inhibits platelet activation and aggregation, and prevents atherosclerosis. In this study, a NO-catalytic bioactive coating that mimics this endothelium functionality was presented as a hemocompatible coating with potential to improve the biocompatibility of vascular stents. The NO-catalytic bioactive coating was obtained by covalent conjugation of 3,3-diselenodipropionic acid (SeDPA) with glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like catalytic activity to generate NO from S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs) via specific catalytic reaction. The SeDPA was immobilized to an amine bearing plasma polymerized allylamine (PPAam) surface (SeDPA-PPAam). It showed long-term and continuous ability to catalytically decompose endogenous RSNO and generate NO. The generated NO remarkably increased the cGMP synthesis both in platelets and human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMCs). The surface exhibited a remarkable suppression of collagen-induced platelet activation and aggregation. It suppressed the adhesion, proliferation and migration of HUASMCs. Additionally, it was found that the NO catalytic surface significantly enhanced human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) adhesion, proliferation and migration. The in vivo results indicated that the NO catalytic surface created a favorable microenvironment of competitive growth of HUVECs over HUASMCs for promoting re-endothelialization and reducing restenosis of stents in vivo.