RESUMO
Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States. The demand for cardiovascular bypass procedures increases annually. Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is a popular material for replacement implants, but it does have drawbacks such as high thrombogenicity and low patency, particularly in small diameter grafts. Hyaluronan, a naturally occurring polysaccharide in the human body, is known for its wound healing and anticoagulant properties. In this work, we demonstrate that treating the luminal surface of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts with hyaluronan improves hemocompatibility without notably changing its mechanical properties and without significant cytotoxic effects. Surface characterization such as ATR-FTIR and contact angle goniometry demonstrates that hyaluronan treatment successfully changes the surface chemistry and increases hydrophilicity. Tensile properties such as elastic modulus, tensile strength, yield stress and ultimate strain are unchanged by hyaluronan enhancement. Durability data from flow loop studies demonstrate that hyaluronan is durable on the expanded polytetrafluoroethylene inner lumen. Hemocompatibility tests reveal that hyaluronan-treated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene reduces blood clotting and platelet activation. Together our results indicate that hyaluronan-enhanced expanded polytetrafluoroethylene is a promising candidate material for cardiovascular grafts.