NO-releasing polymers

In practice, some anticoagulation agents such as heparin or antiplatelet agents, e.g. nitric oxide (NO) are delivered to sensor sites in order to reduce the risk of thrombus formation. Nitric oxide (NO), which is a potent inhibitor of platelet adhesion and activation as well as a promoter of wound healing in tissue, has been incorporated in various polymer metrics including PVC (poly(vinyl-chloride)), PDMS (poly-dimethyl-siloxane) and PU (poly-urethanes). Those NO release polymers have been tested in animals as outer protection coatings and have shown promising effects for the analytical response characteristics of the sensor devices [137],... 

Current research and development efforts have focused on the use of more biocompatible coatings to reduce the biological response of both intravascular and subcutaneous devices. These efforts are based on the expectation that such developments wfllbe critical to the ultimate success in developing implanted sensors that yield continuous analytical results that match closely with conventional in vitro test methods. One new approach in this direction employs novel nitric oxide (NO) release polymers to coat the surface of intravascular sensors.The potent antiplatelet activity of NO has been shown to greatly reduce the formation of thrombus on the surface of implantable electrochemical oxygen sensing catheters, and yield much more accurate continuous PO2 values in animal experiments. 

Major, T.C., Handa, H., Brisbois, E.J., Reynolds, M.M., Annich, G.M., Meyerhoff, M.E., Bartlett, R.H., 2013. The mediation of platelet quiescence by NO-releasing polymers via cGMP-induced serine 239 phosphorylation of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein. 

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