NEW PROCESSES FOR SURFACE-TREATMENT OF CATHETERS

Infection, thrombosis, and stenosis are among the most common complica tions of blood-contacting catheters and are caused by surface properti es of the substrate materials. Ion beam-based processes such as ion im plantation and ion beam-assisted deposition affect only the outer micr on of the treated material surface; there is little effect on bulk pro perties. These processes were therefore used on common catheter materi als, and their biological properties were evaluated. Ion implantation of materials such as silicone rubber resulted in a less tacky, more we ttable surface that demonstrated thrombus-resistance in both in vivo a nd preliminary clinical studies. Ion beam-assisted deposition was used to deposit silver-based coatings, which demonstrated antimicrobial ac tivity in in vitro and clinical studies. Biocompatibility of these pro cessed catheter materials was also demonstrated using simple laborator y studies. These processes, therefore, can be readily applied to blood -contacting catheters to make them thrombus- and infection-resistant.