Hydrogen grafted polymer surfaces: interaction and morphology of platelets

Besides the quantification of platelet adhesion, the morphology of adherent platelets on a polymer surface seems to be important as far as thrombogenicity is concerned. It is suggested that such events usually take place on a layer of adsorbed proteins on the surface of the blood. In the present study, we observed the morphological variation of adherent calf platelets (in vitro under static conditions) on bare and hydrogel-grafted Angioflex sheets. Electron micrographs indicate the extent of deformation of the Angioflex sheets varying with modified substrates as compared to the bare sheets.