Biocompatibility assessment of a sol-gel modified electrospun ventricular shunt catheter

Hydrocephalus is a clinical condition that usually originates froma reduced passage of cerebrospinal fluid from one brain ventricle toanother. The main procedure to treat this condition involves the insertion of a shunt catheter to bypass the blockage and allow the CSFto flow from the ventricles, thus avoiding a possible build-up of intracranial pressure. Such catheters, which are commonly made frommedical grade silicone, are known to be affected by mechanical failures, infection and blockage owing to cerebral tissue infiltration andbacterial colonisation.To decrease cell adhesion and at the same time increase resistanceto bacterial colonisation, medical grade polyurethane was modifiedwith the addition of inorganic modifiers (titanium and zinc) via a solgel process.Both titanium and zinc were successfully incorporated into the polyurethane in an amorphous form, having a strong impact on the microstructure of the fibres, as the presence of the inorganic phase affects the degree of segregation of hard and soft segments typical ofpolyurethanes, and changes the diameter size and distribution of thefibres, with modified materials exhibiting a narrower diameter distribution. Titanium is well dispersed within the fibres, while zinc tendsto segregate on the surface. All electrospun materials are effective atabsorbing fluid quickly.The co-action of morphological factors and chemistry is effective incontrolling cell adhesion and bacterial colonisation. Upon exposure tohuman immortalised astrocyte cultures, modified electrospun materials exhibit a significantly lower viability than the positive control, anda higher apoptotic rate than the negative control (PDMS). Preliminaryresults suggest that cell adhesion is lower for materials with smallerfibre diameters.Furthermore, results from bacterial colonisation studies show thatnanostructured surfaces are effective in controlling and reducing Staphylococcus aureus colonisation (1 log₁₀ unit reduction), as compared tothe standard silicone.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

engd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Erbogasto, Davide

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Black, Richard

DOI

10.48730/sxtb-s537

Identifier

T15613

Author Identifier

201392985

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:7h149p84n