A Vascular Graft On-a-Chip Platform for Assessing the Thrombogenicity of Vascular Prosthesis and Coatings with Tuneable Flow and Surface Conditions

摘要

Vascular grafts are essential for the management of cardiovascular disease.However, the lifesaving potential of these devices is undermined by thrombosisarising from material and flow interactions on the blood contactingsurface. To combat this issue, antithrombogenic coatings have emergedas a promising strategy for modulating blood and graft interaction in vivo.Although an important determinant of graft performance, hemodynamicsare frequently overlooked for in vitro testing of coatings and their translatabilityremains poorly understood. Herein, this limitation is addressed witha microscale graft on-a-chip platform incorporating vascular prosthesis andcoatings with tuneable flow and surface conditions in vitro. As a proof ofconcept, the platform is used to test the thrombogenicity of a novel classof lubricant-infused surface (LIS) and antibody lubricant-infused (anti-CD34 LIS) coated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular graftsin the presence of arterial wall shear stress with and without endothelialcells. The findings suggest LIS ePTFE is thromboresistant under flow withsignificantly reduced fibrin(ogen) deposition, thrombin activity, and bloodcell adhesion compared to uncoated controls. It is moreover apparent thatthe microscale properties of the device are advantageous for the testingand translation of novel antithrombogenic coatings and blood-contactingmaterials in general.