Correlations between blood compatibility and heparin adsorptivity for an impermeable isotropic pyrolytic carbon

The influences of conditioning treatments and surface topography on the heparin adsorptivity and the thromboresistance of a high-strength, impermeable, isotropic, pyrolytic carbon were investigated. The results of the adsorption studies indicate that the adsorption of heparin on such carbon surfaces is near the amount required for monolayer formation. The adsorbed heparin is rapidly elutriated in plasma. The heparin adsorption is not enhanced by a pretreatment with benzalkonium chloride. There was no relationship between the amount of heparin adsorbed on these materials and their compatibility with blood. Polishing, for example, which reduced heparin adsorption, enhanced the tromboresistance of these carbons, and while chemisorption of oxygen markedly reduced their thromboresistance, it did not influence the amount of heparin that could be adsorbed. In vivo tests showed that polished and outgassed, impermeable isotropic carbons deposited at low temperatures were significantly thromboresistant without the exogenous application of heparin. Examples of applications of these new materials in experimental valves are presented.