Assessment of Blood Clot Formation in the Rabbit Artery upon Implantation of Polyurethane Vascular Prosthesis Treated with Nitrogen Plasma

Vascular prosthesis samples were synthesized from polyurethane based on polypropylene glycol terminated with 2,4-toluylenediisocyanate. The outer and inner surfaces of the implants were treated with high-energy nitrogen ions of 20 and 10 keV, respectively. As a result of ion-plasma treatment, an active hydrophilic carbon nanolayer was formed on the implant surfaces. The tropoelastin protein was applied to the inner and outer surfaces of the samples treated by the ion-plasma method. Plasma-treated and untreated prosthetic specimens were implanted into the carotid artery of rabbits. After 1 week of exposure, a morphological assessment of the tissues surrounding the walls of intravascular prostheses was carried out. It was shown that blood clots had formed inside all the prostheses. However, the morphological picture of the tissues around the walls of plasma-treated implants was characterized by accelerated channeling of clots and endothelial proliferation from the intima of the vessel compared to untreated implants.