Biocompatible surface layers

Quantum dots are being explored for applications ranging from electronics to lasers to medical imaging because they are very bright, very stable, and small enough to be taken up by living cells even after being coated with a biocompatible surface layer. 

Although the titanium oxide layer at the surface of the nitinol is highly biocompatible and protects the underlying substrate from electrochemical corrosion, the titanium oxide layer itself is mechanically very brittle. Under mechanical stress, such as the shear of blood flow in the aorta or under the bending moments of aortic pulsations, the titanium oxide surface layer can fracture, exposing the underlying metal to corrosion. Not only is corrosion undesirable in terms of biocompatibility (i.e., leaching of nickel and its... 

The lag between the time that nitinol, was first produced and the time it was used commercially in medical devices was due in part to the fear that nickel would leach from the metal and not be tolerable as a human implant. As it turns out, with a correct understanding of the surface electrochemistry and subsequent processing, a passivating surface layer can be induced by an anodizing process to form on the nitinol surface. It is comprised of titanium oxide approximately 20 mn thick. This layer actually acts as a barrier to prevent the electrochemical corrosion of the nitinol itself. Without an appreciation for the electrochemistry at its surface, nitinol would not be an FDA-approved biocompatible metal and an entire generation of medical devices would not have evolved. This is really a tribute to the understanding of surface electrochemistry within the context of implanted medical devices. 

Phosphorylcholine (PC) coating is a polymer that mimics the human chemistry of the cell membrane surface. The PC polymer is biocompatible, because it has hydrophobic areas that stick to each other and to the metal, and it is also cross-linked for strength, Its high water affinity allows for water to be attracted to its surface, PC-coated devices have a permanent water layer on the surface, again serving as a potentially biocompatible surface. 

As stated in Chapter 1, the chemical structure of the top surface layers of a solid determines its surface properties. If these top layers consist of the same chemical groups, then the surface is called chemically homogeneous, and if they consist of different chemical groups it is called chemically heterogeneous. The presence of two or more chemically different solid substances in a surface layer enormously multiplies the possibilities for variety in the types of surface, such as copolymer surfaces and catalysts having many different atoms at the surface. The chemical heterogeneity of a surface is an important property in industry affecting catalysis, adhesion, adsorption, wettability, biocompatibility, printability and lubrication behavior of a surface, and it must be determined analytically when required. 

Another type of carbon layer useful for the preparation of biocompatible surfaces includes chemical and physical vapor deposition. The preparation of the carbon layers on pol3rtetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) by photoinduced CVD from acetylene and their physical properties and chemical structure have been studied. These properties related to the adhesion and proliferation of human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVEC) seeded thereon were characterized [39]. 

Manufacturers of nitinol products are known to electropolish the surface of the nitinol wire to produce an oxidized surface layer that contains only titanium and oxygen. This reduces the potential for nickel allergy and toxicity problems. The alloy MP35N used in the CS/SF device is a quaternary of cobalt, nickel, chromium, and molybdenum, and is known to have high strength and corrosion resistance. Additionally, this metal has been found to be biocompatible and MR compatible. These are all desirable properties for an implantable device, but its nickel content should be noted and considered when dealing with patients who are allergic to nickel. 

Surface-grafted, brushlike polymers can dramatically modify the lubricious properties of surfaces. The ability to bind a significant amount of solvent in a surface layer is thought to be one of the key mechanisms for low-friction, polymer-brush films. A brush composed of water-soluble, biocompatible polymers, such as poly(ethylene glycol), in an aqueous environment can provide an oil-free, environmentally friendly, food-compatible lubricious surface. 

As far as enzyme immobilization is concerned, the biocompatibility of support is another important requirement [120-123], as the biocompatible surface can reduce some non-biospecific enzyme-support interactions, create a specific microenvironment for the enzymes and thus provide substantial benefits to the enzyme activity [124], To increase the biocompatibility of the support, various surface modification protocols have often been used to introduce a biofriendly interface on the support surface, such as coating, adsorption, self-assembly and graft polymerization. Among these methods, it is relatively easy and effective to directly tether natural macromolecules on the support surface to form a biomimetic layer for enzyme immobilization. In fact, this protocol has been used in tissue engineering recently [125-127]. 

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