Sam Brusco, Associate Editor08.12.22
McMaster University and Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute (TAARI) researchers have created a material to improve vascular graft success.
They engineered a non-stick surface combined with biological components that can repel everything but a targeted group of cells, those forming the veins’ and arteries’ natural lining. The material prevents proteins and cells from sticking to blood vessel inner walls, where they can become clots.
The collaborators had already demonstrated the new material worked in static blood samples, but needed to be sure it would work under flow conditions similar to those in arteries or veins.
To do so, they created a “graft on a chip” that closely replicates short blood vessel sections so variable flow conditions could be created close to those found in the body, and watch what happens as it occurs. The device features four channels for simultaneous comparison of four different grafts.
“The unmet need in my field is to make better grafts, and the best way to do that is to have better materials that can resist clotting,” Jeff Weitz, a hematologist, professor of medicine, and executive director of the Thrombosis & Atherosclerosis Research Institute, told the press. “This will allow us to get a handle on how these surfaces actually perform under real conditions.”
“Using this device will give us a window into a process we’ve never been able to see before: how clots form in the natural setting in vascular grafts and, ideally, how they don’t form in the treated setting,” added Tohid Didar, an associate professor of engineering at McMaster University.
A research paper was published this week in Advanced Functional Materials describing the new device.
They engineered a non-stick surface combined with biological components that can repel everything but a targeted group of cells, those forming the veins’ and arteries’ natural lining. The material prevents proteins and cells from sticking to blood vessel inner walls, where they can become clots.
The collaborators had already demonstrated the new material worked in static blood samples, but needed to be sure it would work under flow conditions similar to those in arteries or veins.
To do so, they created a “graft on a chip” that closely replicates short blood vessel sections so variable flow conditions could be created close to those found in the body, and watch what happens as it occurs. The device features four channels for simultaneous comparison of four different grafts.
“The unmet need in my field is to make better grafts, and the best way to do that is to have better materials that can resist clotting,” Jeff Weitz, a hematologist, professor of medicine, and executive director of the Thrombosis & Atherosclerosis Research Institute, told the press. “This will allow us to get a handle on how these surfaces actually perform under real conditions.”
“Using this device will give us a window into a process we’ve never been able to see before: how clots form in the natural setting in vascular grafts and, ideally, how they don’t form in the treated setting,” added Tohid Didar, an associate professor of engineering at McMaster University.
A research paper was published this week in Advanced Functional Materials describing the new device.