Tuesday, 1 October, 2013, 08:29
Probably not accidentally in September I appeared on the SIM 2013 in Krynica, which is annual meeting of PhD students and Young Scientists. Meeting was aimed at bringing young researchers from different material science fields together to discuss the latest advancement and development of novel materials. During the conference I presented results of work entitled “Thermal stability of polyelectrolyte multilayer films for surface modification of blood contacting materials”. The low level of biocompatibility of materials used for cardiovascular implants, indicates the necessity of their targeted functionalization. An innovative approach is to modify the surface by polyelectrolyte coating with a thermal tolerance allows to store implant under cryogenic conditions and then use it for a long-term at physiological temperature. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of temperature in the range from -50 ° C to +50 ° C on physico-chemical properties and potential to endothelialisation of the coatings consist of poly-L-lysine (PLL) and hyaluronic acid (HA). The relationship between the chemical cross-linking degree and thermal stability of the multilayers was also investigated. Changes in films properties and behavior were assessed based on diffusion analysis by FRAP method and endothelial cells adhesion and proliferation assay. It has been shown that heating leads to small changes in the properties of the coating. There was improvement in thermal stability in response to increase of coatings cross-linking degree.