Even drug eluting vascular stents and artificial grafts often lead to the development of thrombi. While devices that release a blood thinner, usually paclitaxel or sirolimus, do help, the drug is eventually depleted. At the ITMO University in St. Petersburg, Russia researchers have developed a coating of aluminum oxide nanorods combined with a thrombolytic enzyme called urokinase-type plasminogen activator that attracts plasmin, a fibrin clot dissolving enzyme produced by the body.
The thrombolytic sol–gel coating maintains the plasminogen activator from interacting with the environment, save for gathering plasminogen and producing plasmin.
The researchers tested the technology by growing a clot and placing it inside a graft coated with the new film. The clot proceeded to dissolve and let blood pass through. This is quite exciting, since if the coating works as intended, it wouldn’t even let the clot form in the first place.
Study in Journal of Medicinal Chemistry: Synthesis of Thrombolytic Sol–Gel Coatings: Toward Drug-Entrapped Vascular Grafts…
Source: ITMO University…