Foreign Body Reaction (Immune Response) for Artificial Implants Can Be Avoided: An Example of Polyurethane in Mice...

Despite great success with artificial implants for the human body, modern implants cannot solve major health problems. The reason is an immune reaction of organisms to artificial implants, known as the foreign body reaction. We have found a way to avoid or decrease the foreign body reaction. The surface of an artificial implant is modified with condensed aromatic structures containing free radicals, which provide a covalent attachment of host proteins in a native conformation. The total protein coverage prevents the direct contact of immune cells with the implant surface, and the immune cells are not activated. As a result, the immune response of the organism is not generated, and the artificial implant is not isolated from the tissue; there is no collagen capsule, low activity of macrophages, low cell proliferation, and low inflammatory activity.