Researchers say this coating could make medical devices safer

A rendering of catheters, one without the UBC coating and one with it. [Image courtesy of UBC]

Researchers at The University of British Columbia (UBC) say they developed a new coating that could reduce risks associated with some medical devices.

The researchers designed the material to mimic the natural behavior of blood vessels to allow for the safer use of blood-contacting devices. Those include catheters, stents, blood-oxygenation machines and dialysis machines. According to UBC, the coating helps reduce the risks associated with blood clots and dangerous bleeding. This could prove especially useful in cases where blood clots are a significant concern.

“This discovery could be a transformative step in the development of safer medical devices,” said Dr. Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Immunomodulation Materials and Immunotherapy who led the study out of the Centre for Blood Research at UBC. “By designing a coating that mimics the body’s natural approach to preventing clots, we’ve created a solution that could dramatically reduce the need for risky blood thinners before and after patients use these devices.”

As a potential alternative to blood thinners, the new coating imitates how blood vessels function. It encourages normal blood flow without triggering clot formation. The researchers describe it as a “soft barrier” on a device that attacks a key blood protein but keeps it from activating the clotting process.

In lab and animal studies, the coating demonstrated significant reductions in clot formation on device surfaces. This occurred without the use of blood thinners and without affecting the normal clotting functions elsewhere in the body.

“One of the most surprising insights was that controlling the interaction between the coating and specific blood proteins could prevent clotting without disrupting the body’s natural balance,” Dr. Kizhakkedathu said. “This shows us that mimicking the body’s own mechanisms, rather than simply repelling blood components, is key to truly biocompatible device design.”

The researchers’ future plans include exploring optimizing the coating and applying it to a broader range of blood-contacting devices. They aim to evaluate how the coating interacts with other blood proteins and cells and whether it interacts with coagulation proteins through single-layer or multi-layer designs.

UBC’s team also has interest in understanding if they could adapt the approach for other blood-related complications. Those include inflammation or infection related to long-term medical implants.