Heart transplantation process

Despite efforts such as revascularization to halt the progression to ischemic heart failure, ventricular remodeling is still a growing danger. Efforts to treat severely failing hearts refractory to medical therapy have included heart transplantation and mechanical ventricular assistance [1]. Until recently, cardiologists believed that beyond revascularization and medical therapy, the process of ischemic heart failure was irreversible because the heart lacked the capacity to renew itself. 

Fig. 10) [165], The Cytel corporation in San Diego has been able to scale-up this process for the routine production of kilogram quantities in each run of reactions [144]. The sialyl Le tetrasaccharide and its analogs are of pharmaceutical interest in the context of new treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases (psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis), tumors, and tissue injuries following a heart attack, stroke, or organ transplant. Sialyl Lex and its analogs are therefore enthusiastically pursued by several pharmaceutical companies. Strategies for the solid-phase chemoenzymatic synthesis of glycopeptides (and glycolipids) containing sialyl Lex have also been designed and reported [144,156, and references therein].

The surface of any material governs its interactions with the environment. Knowledge over and control of these interaction is especially important when a material is in contact with the biosystem, for example, when applied as transplant, in tissue engineering, in cell cultures, and in blood contact, as weU as in biosensors in medicinal diagnosis, fluids analysis, environmental moititoring, and many other areas. Whereas, on the one hand, the bulk properties of the material are essential for its successful application, for example, as a catheter or a heart valve, special attention has to be paid to render to the surface suitable biocompatible or bioactive properties, no matter of the chemical composition of the bulk material. This is usually achieved by any surface modification process by low molar mass or polymeric compounds. An essential feature of such a modification procedure is the need for a permanent and bioresistant surface finish [87]. 

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