NSF Award
0319525
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will explore an antithrombotic coating on catheters through a newly developed surface treatment technique, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR). Such catheters would display improved device functionality by extending the period between catheter replacements and decreasing morbidity and mortality. ECR plasma can be spatially localized to treat the lumen and external surfaces separately and uniformly. Albumin and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can be coated onto polymeric surfaces successfully. In the proposed project, a new approach, enhancing both anticoagulation through albumin (Alb)-heparin (H) complex and fibrinolysis through tPA concurrently, will be investigated. <br/><br/>The commercial application of this project will be in the area of medical products that contact blood, e.g., catheters. The project could lead to a low-cost commercial surface modification method for end stage renal disease (ESRD) catheters. Catheters that possess mechanisms to fight thrombosis complications would greatly extend the period between catheter replacements and therefore benefit patients.
