Hemocompatibility Studies of Layer-By-Layer Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Bio-Based Polymers

Thrombogenesis is an important issue that causes failure in blood-contacting biomedical devices. This study focuses on hemocompatibility studies of novel, blood-contacting, polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) for biomedical application designs. PEC films were fabricated from bio-based polymers of silk fibroin (SF), chitosan (CH), and sodium alginate (AL) through the solvent-casting method as well as the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. Characterization was carried out by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). FTIR spectra displayed all the layers’ characteristic peaks of SF, CH, and AL. AFM images indicated that the addition of AL as an outer layer increased the surface roughness. DSC analysis suggested that the best thermal stability was observed with the CH outer layer of PECs. SEM micrograph analysis indicated that the morphologies of the PECs were affected by the inclusion of the clopidogrel bisulfate (CLB). Hemocompatibility properties were investigated by a complete blood count (CBC), prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), platelet adhesion, erythrocyte morphology analysis, in vitro cholesterol, and albumin level tests. These hemocompatibility analyses demonstrated that the PEC surfaces provide favourable principles to design and develop non-thrombogenic PECs for blood-contacting biomedical applications. © 2023. All Rights Reserved.