Abnormal blood clot formation induced by temperature responsive polymers by altered fibrin polymerization and platelet binding.

Thermoresponsive polymers (TRPs) have been extensively investigated as smart devices, drug delivery systems and protein conjugates due to their unique phase transition properties. Here, we report the unusual influence of TRPs in blood clotting and the mechanism by which TRPs change the three dimensional organization of blood clot structure. Ten different TRPs with lower critical solution temperatures ranged from 26 to 80 °C are studied. TRPs altered the fibrin polymerization by increasing the rate of protofibril aggregation, decreased the fibrin fiber diameter and changed the platelet integration within the clot. The mechanical properties of the clot decreased considerably in presence of TRPs due to the poor platelet binding. The poor integration of platelets within the clot is not due to the inhibition of platelet activation by TRPs but may due to the unusual organization of fibrin structure. The plasma phase of the blood coagulation is not affected in presence of TRPs. We anticipate that our results will have significant implications on the use of TRPs in applications where blood contact is essential. These observations may also open up new avenues, for example, in the design of new generation antithrombotics.

Thermal reversal of polyvalent choline phosphate, a multivalent universal biomembrane adhesive.

Multivalent macromolecular associations are widely observed in biological systems and are increasingly being utilized in bioengineering, nanomedicine, and biomaterial applications. Control over such associations usually demands an ability to reverse the multivalent binding. While in principle this can be done with binding site competitive inhibitors, dissociation is difficult in practice due to limited site accessibility when the macromolecule is bound. We demonstrate here efficient binding reversal of multivalent linear copolymers that adhere to any mammalian cell via the universal mechanism based on choline phosphate (CP) groups binding to phosphatidyl choline (PC)-containing biomembranes. Using a smart linear polymer exhibiting a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), we take advantage of the thermal contraction of the polymer above the LCST, which reduces accessibility of the CP groups to cell membrane PC lipids. The polymer construct can then desorb from the cell surface, reversing all effects of multivalent polymer adhesion on the cell.

The biocompatibility and biofilm resistance of implant coatings based on hydrophilic polymer brushes conjugated with antimicrobial peptides.

Bacterial colonization on implant surfaces and subsequent infections are one of the most common reasons for the failure of many indwelling devices. Several approaches including antimicrobial and antibiotic-eluting coatings on implants have been attempted; however, none of these approaches succeed in vivo. Here we report a polymer brush based implant coating that is non-toxic, antimicrobial and biofilm resistant. These coating consists of covalently grafted hydrophilic polymer chains conjugated with an optimized series of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These tethered AMPs maintained excellent broad spectrum antimicrobial activity in vitro and in vivo. We found that this specially structured robust coating was extremely effective in resisting biofilm formation, and that the biofilm resistance depended on the nature of conjugated peptides. The coating had no toxicity to osteoblast-like cells and showed insignificant platelet activation and adhesion, and complement activation in human blood. Since such coatings can be applied to most currently used implant surfaces, our approach has significant potential for the development of infection-resistant implants.

Inhibitory effect of hydrophilic polymer brushes on surface-induced platelet activation and adhesion.

Poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) brushes are successfully grown from unplasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (uPVC) by well-controlled surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Molecular weights of the grafted PDMA brushes vary from ≈ 35,000 to 2,170000 Da, while the graft density ranges from 0.08 to 1.13 chains · nm(-2). The polydispersity of the grafted PDMA brushes is controlled within 1.20 to 1.80. Platelet activation (expression of CD62) and adhesion studies reveal that the graft densities of the PDMA brushes play an important role in controlling interfacial properties. PDMA brushes with graft densities between 0.35 and 0.50 chains · nm(-2) induce a significantly reduced platelet activation compared to unmodified uPVC. Moreover, the surface adhesion of platelets on uPVC is significantly reduced by the densely grafted PDMA brushes. PDMA brushes that have high molecular weights lead to a relatively lower platelet activation compared to low-molecular-weight brushes. However, the graft density of the brush is more important than molecular weight in controlling platelet interactions with PVC. PDMA brushes do not produce any significant platelet consumption in platelet rich plasma. Up to a seven-fold decrease in the number of platelets adhered on high graft density brushes is observed compared to the bare PVC surface. Unlike the bare PVC, platelets do not form pseudopodes or change morphology on PDMA brush-coated surfaces.

The influence of poly-N-[(2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane)methyl]acrylamide on fibrin polymerization, cross-linking and clot structure.

Poly-N-[(2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane)methyl]acrylamide (PDMDOMA) is a neutral synthetic water-soluble polymer. In this report, we evaluated the influence of PDMDOMA on blood hemostasis by studying the fibrin polymerization process, the three-dimensional clot structure, and the mechanical properties and fibrinolysis. PDMDOMA altered the normal fibrin polymerization by changing the rate of protofibril aggregation and resulting in a 5-fold increase in the overall turbidity. Fibrin clots formed in presence of PDMDOMA exhibited thinner fibers with less branching which resulted in a more porous and heterogeneous clot structure in scanning electron micrographs. The overall strength and rigidity of the whole blood clot also decreased up to 10-fold. When a combination of plasminogen and tissue-plasminogen activators were included in clotting reactions, fibrin clots formed in the presence of PDMDOMA exhibited highly shortened clot lysis times and was supported by the enhanced clot lysis measured by thromboelastography in whole blood. Further evidence of the altered clot structure and clot cross-linking was obtained from the significant decrease in d-dimer levels measured from degraded plasma clot. Thus, PDMDOMA may play an important role as an antithrombotic agent useful in prophylactic treatments for thrombosis by modulating fibrin clot structure to enhance fibrinolysis.

Nonbiofouling polymer brush with latent aldehyde functionality as a template for protein micropatterning.

A novel, nonfouling polymer brush, poly-N-[(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)acrylamide] (PDHPA), containing latent aldehyde groups, was synthesized by surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The synthetic parameters were adjusted to produce brushes with varying graft densities and molecular weights. High-density PDHPA brushes successfully prevented the nonspecific protein adsorption from single protein solutions as well as from human platelet poor plasma. Patterns of nonfouling PDHPA and reactive PDHPA-aldehyde domains on the brush surface were created by a combination of photo and wet chemical lithography from a single homogeneous PDHPA brush. Successful micropatterning of single proteins and multiple proteins were achieved using this novel substrate. The high-density brush prevented the diffusion of large proteins into the brush, while a monolayer of covalently coupled proteins was formed on the PDHPA-aldehyde domains. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) force measurements using a biotin coupled AFM tip showed that covalently coupled streptavidin retained its activity, while PDHPA domains showed little nonspecific adsorption of streptavidin. The current study avoids tedious and complicated synthetic processes employed in conventional approaches by providing a novel approach to protein micropatterning from a single, multifunctional polymer brush.

Self-assembled monothiol-terminated hyperbranched polyglycerols on a gold surface: a comparative study on the structure, morphology, and protein adsorption characteristics with linear poly(ethylene glycol)s.

Monothiol-terminated hyperbranched polyglycerols (HPGs) were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of glycidol from partially deprotonated 2,2'-dihydroxyethane disulfide as the initiator and subsequent reduction of the disulfide group. Two molecular weights of HPG thiols were synthesized. The molecular weights of the polymers were determined by MALDI-TOF analysis, and the presence of thiol was verified by Ellman's assay. The self-assembly of HPG thiols on gold was studied and compared with that of linear poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) thiols utilizing various surface analysis techniques. Monothiol-functionalized HPGs readily adsorbed to a gold surface and formed highly uniform thin films on the surface. The graft density of the HPG layer decreased with an increase in the molecular weight of the polymer. The amount of polymer on the surface increased with increasing incubation concentration and saturated above 6 g/L polymer concentration. Generally, HPG thiols gave lower graft density compared to linear PEG thiols of similar molecular weight. AFM morphological studies showed that HPG thiols form more uniform and smooth surface films compared to PEG thiols. Incubation of a polymer-coated surface (HPG thiols and PEG thiols) with bovine serum albumin and immunoglobulin showed that the high molecular weight hyperbranched polyglycerol was more resistant to protein adsorption than linear PEG of similar molecular weight or lower molecular weight HPG. The protein adsorption decreased with increasing graft density of the HPG chains on the surface. Our results show that HPG could be a good alternative to PEG in the development of nonfouling functional surfaces.

[Study on a new method for determining trace amounts of manganese (II) in water by flow-injection catalytic kinetic spectrophotometry].

An on-line supported flow-injection catalytic kinetic spectrophotometry new method for the determination of trace amounts of manganese(II) in water was developed. The method is based on the significant catalytic action of trace manganese on the fading reaction of potassium periodate and magneson I in the presence of nitrilotriacetic acid. The chemical and flow injection variables were optimized. The absorbance intensity was registered in this reaction solution at 560 nm. Under the optimum conditions, a standard curve with good linearity and broad linear range can be obtained in the range of 20-200 microg x L(-1), the linear equation is H(mV) = 0.170 5c (microg x L(-1))+0.125 2 (r = 0.999 3), the detection limit is 1.3 microg x L(-1), the relative standard deviation is 3.57% (n = 8), and the sampling frequency is 15 samples per hour. The interference of foreign iron was studied. Satisfied results were achieved with the proposed method to analyze the Mn(II) in river water, waste water and pond water, and the range of recovery was 96%-102%. This method is simple, rapid, sensitive, accurate, highly selective and suitable for automatic and continuous analysis.

Preparation of C-6 substituted chitin derivatives under homogeneous conditions.

Tosylation of chitin under homogeneous conditions was achieved by the reaction of tosyl chloride with chitin in a DMAc/LiCl solvent system. The resultant tosyl-chitin was fully N-acetylated with acetic anhydride in methanol. The fully acetylated tosyl-chitin was subsequently reacted with the sodium salts of ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate, diethyl malonate, and diethyl phosphite in DMAc to give the corresponding chitin derivatives of 6-O-ethyl benzoate-chitin, 6-deoxy-diethyl malonate-chitin, and 6-(deoxydiethyl) phosphite-chitin, respectively. Subsequent hydrolysis of the chitin-ester derivatives with tert-butoxide in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) generated 6-O-carboxyphenyl-chitin and 6-(deoxydicarboxy)methyl-chitin. The structures of the chitin derivatives were assessed by FT-IR, (13)C NMR, and (31)P NMR, while the degree of substitution of the S(N)2 reaction was estimated by elemental analysis. All the chitin derivatives were found to be soluble or swellable in water, DMAc, or DMSO.