During the past several decades polymer materials become widely used as components of medical devices and implants such as hemodialysers, bioartificial organs as well as vascular and recombinant surgery. Most of the devices cannot avoid the blood contact in their use. When the polymer materials come in contact with blood they can cause different undesired host responses like thrombosis, inflammatory reactions and infections. Thus the materials must be hemocompatible in order to minimize these undesired body responses. The earliest and one of the main problems in the use of blood-contacting biomaterials is the surface induced thrombosis. The sequence of the thrombus formation on the artificial surfaces has been well established. The first event, which occurs, after exposure of biomaterials to blood, is the adsorption of blood proteins. Surface physicochemical properties of the materials as wettability greatly influence the amount and conformational changes of adsorbed proteins. In turn the type, amount and conformational state of the adsorbed protein layer determines whether platelets will adhere and become activated or not on the artificial surface and thus to complete the thrombus formation. The adsorption of fibrinogen (FNG), which is present in plasma, has been shown to be closely related to surface induced thrombosis by participating in all processes of the thrombus formation such as fibrin formation, platelet adhesion and aggregation. Therefore study the FNG adsorption to artificial surfaces could contribute to better understanding of the mechanisms of platelet adhesion and activation and thus to controlling the surface induced thrombosis. <br /> <br /> Endothelization of the polymer surfaces is one of the strategies for improving the materials hemocompatibility, which is believed to be the most ideal solution for making truly blood-compatible materials. Since at physiological conditions proteins such as FNG and fibronectin (FN) are the usual extracellular matrix (ECM) for endothelial cells (EC) adhesion, precoating of the materials with these proteins has been shown to improve EC adhesion and growth in vitro. ECM proteins play an essential role not only like a structural support for cell adhesion and spreading, but also they are important factor in transmitting signals for different cell functions. The ability of cells to remodel plasma proteins such as FNG and FN in matrix-like structures together with the classical cell parameters such as actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion formation could be used as an criteria for proper cell functioning. The establishment and the maintaining of delicate balance between cell-cell and cell-substrate contacts is another important factor for better EC colonization of the implants. The functionality of newly established endothelium in order to produce antithromotic substances should be always considered when EC seeding is used for improving the hemocompatibility of the polymer materials. <br /> <br /> Controlling the polymer surface properties such as surface wettability represents a versatile approach to manipulate the above cellular responses and therefore can be used in biomaterial and tissue engineering applications for producing better hemocompatible materials.

Foi desenvolvido um diafragma de elevada vida útil e biocompatibilidade a ser utilizado em um dispositivo de assistência ventricular esquerda(DAV) eletromecânico de dimensões reduzidas e totalmente implantável. Foi realizado teste de resistência do diafragma de poliuretana com superfície texturizada. O teste avaliou sua resistência para experimentos In Vivo de até quinze dias com o DAV implantado em bezerro. Uma superfície de endotélio natural tem excelente tromboresistência. A quantidade e as características da neointima formada em um DAV são determinadas pela superfície do material, hemodinâmica e condições físico-patológicas. O implante de patch na aorta abdominal de porco isola as variáveis que normalmente estão presentes durante a utilização do DAV e que interferem na hemocompatibilidade do material. A avaliação das características do material foi obtida com o seu implante na parede da aorta descendente em contato com o fluxo sanguíneo. Diferentes tipos de superfície de contato foram avaliadas em sete experimentos In Vivo. Este estudo está voltado para as reações de interface sangue / material. Um estudo histológico foi realizado ao final de cada experimento para analisar as interações entre o sangue e o material, quantificando e qualificando a intima neo formada sobre a superfície de contato, calcificação e deposições de elementos constituintes do sangue / It has been developed a high lifetime and biocompatible diaphragm to be used in a Left Ventricle Assist Device (LVAD) that is a reduced dimension totally implantable electromechanical device. It has been performed an endurance test on a textured diaphragm made of polyurethane. This test has evaluated the diaphragm resistance to be used in In Vivo tests with the LVAD implanted for fifteen days in calves. A natural endothelial cell surface has excellent thromboresistant characteristics. The quantity and the characteristics of the neointima formed into LVAD are determined by the material surface, hemodynamics of the blood through the device, and the physico-pathological conditions. The patch implantation into the abdominal aorta of pigs has isolated some normal variables that usually are present during LVAD utilization and that may interfere on the material biocompatibility. The evaluation of the material’s characteristics has been enhanced through its implantation at the descending aorta wall in contact with blood flow. Different kinds of contact surfaces of specific polyurethane are tested in seven In Vivo experiments. This study is totally focused in the reaction of the blood-material interface. A histogical study is performed in the end of every animal experiment to analyze the interactions between blood and biomaterial. It’s emphasized the quantification and qualification of the neointima over the blood contact surface, calcification, and blood depositions

Foi desenvolvido um diafragma de elevada vida útil e biocompatibilidade a ser utilizado em um dispositivo de assistência ventricular esquerda(DAV) eletromecânico de dimensões reduzidas e totalmente implantável. Foi realizado teste de resistência do diafragma de poliuretana com superfície texturizada. O teste avaliou sua resistência para experimentos In Vivo de até quinze dias com o DAV implantado em bezerro. Uma superfície de endotélio natural tem excelente tromboresistência. A quantidade e as características da neointima formada em um DAV são determinadas pela superfície do material, hemodinâmica e condições físico-patológicas. O implante de patch na aorta abdominal de porco isola as variáveis que normalmente estão presentes durante a utilização do DAV e que interferem na hemocompatibilidade do material. A avaliação das características do material foi obtida com o seu implante na parede da aorta descendente em contato com o fluxo sanguíneo. Diferentes tipos de superfície de contato foram avaliadas em sete experimentos In Vivo. Este estudo está voltado para as reações de interface sangue / material. Um estudo histológico foi realizado ao final de cada experimento para analisar as interações entre o sangue e o material, quantificando e qualificando a intima neo formada sobre a superfície de contato, calcificação e deposições de elementos constituintes do sangue / It has been developed a high lifetime and biocompatible diaphragm to be used in a Left Ventricle Assist Device (LVAD) that is a reduced dimension totally implantable electromechanical device. It has been performed an endurance test on a textured diaphragm made of polyurethane. This test has evaluated the diaphragm resistance to be used in In Vivo tests with the LVAD implanted for fifteen days in calves. A natural endothelial cell surface has excellent thromboresistant characteristics. The quantity and the characteristics of the neointima formed into LVAD are determined by the material surface, hemodynamics of the blood through the device, and the physico-pathological conditions. The patch implantation into the abdominal aorta of pigs has isolated some normal variables that usually are present during LVAD utilization and that may interfere on the material biocompatibility. The evaluation of the material’s characteristics has been enhanced through its implantation at the descending aorta wall in contact with blood flow. Different kinds of contact surfaces of specific polyurethane are tested in seven In Vivo experiments. This study is totally focused in the reaction of the blood-material interface. A histogical study is performed in the end of every animal experiment to analyze the interactions between blood and biomaterial. It’s emphasized the quantification and qualification of the neointima over the blood contact surface, calcification, and blood depositions