A hyaluronic acid based lubricious coating for cardiovascular catheters

Hydrophilic lubricious coatings on the catheter surface reduce friction against the blood vessel wall but give rise to iatrogenic complication of particle release, embolization and thin blood vessel blockage leading to pulmonary infarction and stroke. Layer by layer deposited PLL (poly-l-lysine) and HA (hyaluronan) coating fills the urgent need of thinner lubricious coating which does not lead to release of large particles. The 8 layered PLL-HA coating was able to maintain low friction and prevent wear of endothelial glycocalyx layer (EGL). Wear and loss of EGL is a gradual process and occurred while sliding the blood vessel against bare catheter surface or 4 layered coating accompanied by epithelial cells damage and decrease in the number of nucleuses.