Improved blood compatibility of DLC coated polymeric material

There is currently an increasing interest in the use of DLC (diamond like c arbon) films in biomedical applications. These investigations making use of DLC in the biomedical area indicate its attractive properties. In this stu dy, we succeeded in depositing DLC on polymer substrates and found the best conditions and method for this application. We evaluated the blood compati bility of polycarbonate substrates coated by DLC (PC-DLC) under different c onditions by using epifluorescent video microscopy (EVM) combined with a pa rallel plate flow chamber. Segmented polyurethane (SPU), which has been use d to fabricate medical devices including an artificial heart, and proven to have acceptable blood compatibility, was compared with polycarbonate subst rates coated with DLC film. The EVM system measured platelet adhesion on th e surface of the DLC, by using whole human blood containing Mepacrine label ed platelets perfuse at a wall shear rate of 100 s(-1) at 1 min intervals f or a period of 20 min. PC-DLC demonstrated that Tecoflex showed higher comp lement activation than PC-DLC. There were significant differences between t he PC-DLC substrates. On the basis of these results, it is recommended for use as a coating material in implantable blood contacting devices such as a rtificial hearts, pacemakers, and other devices. This DLC seems to be a pro mising candidate for biomaterials applications and merits further investiga tion.