Publication Date
1-10-2024
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume
16
Issue
1
DOI
10.1021/acsami.3c16759
First Page
389
Last Page
400
Abstract
Synthetic small-diameter vascular grafts (<6 mm) are used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease, but fail much more readily than similar grafts made from autologous vascular tissue. A promising approach to improve the patency rates of synthetic vascular grafts is to promote the adhesion of endothelial cells to the luminal surface of the graft. In this study, we characterized the surface chemical and topographic changes imparted on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), an emerging hydrogel vascular graft material, after exposure to various reactive ion plasma (RIP) surface treatments, how these changes dissipate after storage in a sealed environment at standard temperature and pressure, and the effect of these changes on the adhesion of endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs). We showed that RIP treatments including O2, N2, or Ar at two radiofrequency powers, 50 and 100 W, improved ECFC adhesion compared to untreated PVA and to different degrees for each RIP treatment, but that the topographic and chemical changes responsible for the increased cell affinity dissipate in samples treated and allowed to age for 230 days. We characterized the effect of aging on RIP-treated PVA using an assay to quantify ECFCs on RIP-treated PVA 48 h after seeding, atomic force microscopy to probe surface topography, scanning electron microscopy to visualize surface modifications, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to investigate surface chemistry. Our results show that after treatment at higher RF powers, the surface exhibits increased roughness and greater levels of charged nitrogen species across all precursor gases and that these surface modifications are beneficial for the attachment of ECFCs. This study is important for our understanding of the stability of surface modifications used to promote the adhesion of vascular cells such as ECFCs.
Funding Number
R01 HL144113
Funding Sponsor
National Institutes of Health
Keywords
cardiovascular biomaterials, endothelialization, hydrophobic recovery, nanotopography, poly(vinyl alcohol), reactive ion plasma
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Recommended Citation
Ryan A. Faase, Novella M. Keeling, Justin S. Plaut, Christian Leycam, Gabriela Acevedo Munares, Monica T. Hinds, Joe E. Baio, and Patrick L. Jurney. "Temporal Changes in the Surface Chemistry and Topography of Reactive Ion Plasma-Treated Poly(vinyl alcohol) Alter Endothelialization Potential" ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (2024): 389-400. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c16759
