Blood compatibility of novel zwitterionic PEG-grafted nitinol alloy for peripheral arterial stents

Abstract

In this study, newly synthesized zwitterionic PEG was grafted on Nitinol alloy using oxidation treatment. The surface property and blood compatibility of surface-modified Nitinols were examined. The results of surface analysis showed that the contact angle and the ratio of oxygen to carbon significantly decreased with Nitinol alloys. The total amount of fibrinogen (0.095 mu g/cm(2)) adsorbed onto TiNi-PEG2K-N+-S- was lower than that of TiNi control (0.12 mu g/cm(2)). The platelet adhesion decreased in the order of TiNi control > TiNi-MPEG2K > TiNi-PEG2K-N+-S. Particularly, zwitterionic PEG with PEG2K was proven better than any others. The results indicated that zwitterionic PEG surface could significantly suppress platelet adhesion and protein adsorption as compared to other samples. The present study suggested that grafted zwitterionic PEG structure may possess improved blood compatibility.