Covalent Organic Framework-Based Porous Anticoagulant Materials for Extracorporeal Blood Circulation

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Preventing blood coagulation is crucial for extracorporeal blood circulation (EBC) treatments.
• Current anticoagulant materials have limitations due to inefficient interactions with coagulation factors.
• Developing novel anticoagulant materials can enhance safety and reduce reliance on systemic anticoagulants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop efficient, hemocompatible porous anticoagulant materials based on covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for EBC.
• To engineer COFs with tailored pore sizes and functionalities for precise interactions with coagulation components.
• To evaluate the anticoagulant efficacy, hemocompatibility, and dual functionality of COFs in vitro and in vivo.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of porous COFs with ordered pores (1.4–3.2 nm).
• Engineering COFs with specific binding pockets for precise interactions with coagulation factors.
• In vitro evaluation of anticoagulation using activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), and thrombin time (TT) assays.
• In vivo assessment of hemostatic function recovery in animal models.
• Simulated extracorporeal purification to assess lipid removal.

Main Results:

• COFs demonstrated marked anticoagulation efficacy, prolonging APTT, PT, and TT by 1.5–3.6 fold.
• COFs exhibited excellent hemocompatibility in vitro and faster in vivo hemostatic function recovery than heparin.
• COFs effectively removed blood lipids (TG, TC, LDL) by up to 50% in simulated purification, showing dual anticoagulant-detoxification properties.

Conclusions:

• Engineered COFs provide efficient anticoagulation and hemocompatibility for EBC applications.
• The precise interaction mechanism of COFs offers advantages over conventional anticoagulant strategies.
• COFs present a promising dual-function material for anticoagulant therapy and blood detoxification.