An insect sclerotization-inspired antifouling armor on biomedical devices combats thrombosis and embedding

Nan Lyu; Daihua Deng; Yuting Xiang; Zeyu Du; Xiaohui Mou; Qing Ma; Nan Huang; Jing Lu; Xin Li; Zhilu Yang; Wentai Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.bioactmat.2023.12.004

An insect sclerotization-inspired antifouling armor on biomedical devices combats thrombosis and embedding

Bioact Mater. 2023 Dec 9:33:562-571. doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2023.12.004. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Nan Lyu¹, Daihua Deng¹, Yuting Xiang¹, Zeyu Du¹, Xiaohui Mou¹, Qing Ma¹, Nan Huang^{1

2}, Jing Lu³, Xin Li⁴, Zhilu Yang^{1

4

5}, Wentai Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Dongguan Key Laboratory of Smart Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Cardiology, The Tenth Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523059, China.
² GuangZhou Nanchuang Mount Everest Company for Medical Science and Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510670, China.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610072, China.
⁴ Department of Cardiology, Third People's Hospital of Chengdu Affiliated to Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610072, China.
⁵ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiac Function and Microcirculation, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, China.

Abstract

Thrombus formation and tissue embedding significantly impair the clinical efficacy and retrievability of temporary interventional medical devices. Herein, we report an insect sclerotization-inspired antifouling armor for tailoring temporary interventional devices with durable resistance to protein adsorption and the following protein-mediated complications. By mimicking the phenol-polyamine chemistry assisted by phenol oxidases during sclerotization, we develop a facile one-step method to crosslink bovine serum albumin (BSA) with oxidized hydrocaffeic acid (HCA), resulting in a stable and universal BSA@HCA armor. Furthermore, the surface of the BSA@HCA armor, enriched with carboxyl groups, supports the secondary grafting of polyethylene glycol (PEG), further enhancing both its antifouling performance and durability. The synergy of robustly immobilized BSA and covalently grafted PEG provide potent resistance to the adhesion of proteins, platelets, and vascular cells in vitro. In ex vivo blood circulation experiment, the armored surface reduces thrombus formation by 95 %. Moreover, the antifouling armor retained over 60 % of its fouling resistance after 28 days of immersion in PBS. Overall, our armor engineering strategy presents a promising solution for enhancing the antifouling properties and clinical performance of temporary interventional medical devices.

Keywords: Antifouling; Insect sclerotization; Phenol-polyamine chemistry; Temporary interventional devices; Universal armor.