Description
Cardiovascular disease is among the leading causes of death in the
world. Grafts are usually used to treat these diseases by redirecting
blood flow around occluded vessels. We previously showed bacterial
cellulose (BC) is a suitable artificial alternative to commonly used
autologous grafts. We found that the addition of polyvinyl alcohol
(PVA) improves the mechanical properties of BC. For cardiovascular
applications, hemocompatibility needs to be characterized. Here, we
characterize the blood/material interaction of a BC/PVA nanocomposite
to assure its hemocompatibility. Healthy donors’ blood was placed
in contact with BC, BC/PVA and ePTFE and parameters related to the
hemocompatibility (whole blood coagulation time, plasma recalcification
profiles, Factor XII activation, hemolysis and platelet activation
and adhesion) determined. The results demonstrated good hemocompatibility
of BC and BC/PVA when compared to ePTFE. BC and to a
greater extent BC/PVA are shown to induce minimal activation of the
coagulation cascade and therefore minimal thrombogenic activity.
Overall, our data consistently shows that the addition of PVA further
improves on the previously reported good hemocompatibility of BC.
The results are on par with the industry standard ePTFE and therefore
demonstrate that BC/PVA has potential application as a graft material.