Preliminary hemocompatibility assessment of an innovative material for blood contacting surfaces

Over the years, several devices have been created (and the development of many others is currently in progress) to be in permanent contact with blood: mechanical circulatory supports represent an example thereof. The hemocompatibility of these devices largely depends on the chemical composition of blood-contacting components. In the present work, an innovative material (hybrid membrane) is proposed to fabricate the inner surfaces of a pulsatile ventricular chamber: it has been obtained by coupling a synthetic polymer (e.g., commercial polycarbonate urethane) with decellularized porcine pericardium. The hemocompatibility of the innovative material has been preliminarily assessed by measuring its capacity to promote thrombin generation and induce platelet activation. Our results demonstrated the blood compatibility of the proposed hybrid membrane.