How is PC technology different to other hemocompatible coatings?
Neelam Kumar, strategic marketing manager for medical at Vertellus, explains how PC technology is different to other hemocompatible coatings.
Terms such as biomimicry and bio-inspired have long been used to describe systems that are designed on principles existing in nature. PC Technology is one such surface modification technology, encompassing synthetic biomaterials whose chemical compositions are founded upon the structure of the cell membrane.
What is PC Technology?
Short for phosphorylcholine, PC is the chemical name of a polar head group found in many phospholipids, particularly those that form the bi-layers that make up cell membranes. PC plays a key role in determining how a cell interacts with its surrounding environment and is attributed to be one of the primary natural materials responsible for the biocompatibility that exists between most cells.
The zwitterionic nature of PC confers the PC group with high polarity and, consequently, a natural affinity for water. As a result, materials incorporating the PC group are surrounded by molecular layers of water that effectively mask the substrate to which it is applied, providing a biological friendly surface that resists protein and cell adhesion. Essentially the surface layer of water that is bound to the PC acts as a camouflage and disguises the surface such that the protein does not respond to the foreign body.
PC Technology helps the performance of medical devices and materials through reduced protein deposition/activation, reduced bacterial adhesion, biofilm deposition, inflammatory response, fibrous capsule formation, and decreased blood activation, making it a truly multifunctional surface technology.
Applications of PC Technology
PC Technology has been used to successfully coat a broad range of substrates including a variety of metal, plastic, rubber, glass and ceramic.
The most appreciated and widely deployed use of PC technology in recent years is in Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) devices. ECLS devices are used for cardiac and/or pulmonary support before, during and after surgical procedures.
During clinical use, blood is exposed to the artificial tubing and membrane surfaces. Despite the routine anticoagulation treatments, deposition of blood proteins onto the artificial ECLS surfaces may still occur, leading to inefficient membrane functioning, insufficient gas transfer, and potentially device failure. It is therefore of critical importance that device surfaces be managed to appropriately handle the issues of hemocompatibility and thrombogenesis, and to avoid such potential modes of device failure due to extracorporeal blood activation and resulting negative impacts on patient health outcomes.
What separates PC Technology from other hemocompatible coatings?
PC Technology, a proprietary platform of methacrylate polymers incorporating phosphorylcholine, is synthetic, allowing precise control over the purity profile, the molecular structure and avoiding any of the risks associated with animal-derived material.
Furthermore, the application of PC Polymers onto the device surface does not require any elaborate surface pre-treatments, expensive coating equipment, or significant changes in the device manufacturing value-chain. PC Technology can be deployed seamlessly into existing processes with minimal changes and investment.
In addition, medical devices coated with a bio-passive agent such as PC enjoy a relatively favourable medical device rating compared to ones using a bio-active agent such as Heparin or Albumin, or other types of combination devices.
In a diverse and ever changing medical device industry, PC technology continues to demonstrate its viability as a durable, hemocompatible, anti-thrombogenic, clinically-proven coating for medical devices.