Coating Polyurethane with Palmitoleic Acid and Bovine Serum Albumin to Prevent the Host Response to Foreign Materials

Macrophages are cells of the immune system that play a pivotal role in the host inflammatory response by attacking and engulfing any foreign molecule not seen as ‘self.’ They also help regulate the host response by releasing a variety of cytokines and growth factors that act as signals to other cells to amplify the host response. However, the host response causes degradation of implanted medical devices composed of polyurethane as well as other synthetic materials which it does not identify as self. Research was undertaken to investigate the potential of coating polyurethane with the self-like molecules palmitoleic acid and albumin to reduce or prevent the body’s host response from damaging implanted medical devices. Using an in vitro THP-1 bioassay, polyurethane films coated with palmitoleic acid and bovine serum albumin showed a reduction in macrophage adherence. The individually coated palmitoleic acid and bovine serum albumin films significantly reduced the number of cells attached to the films with increasing concentration while the films coated with the conjugate of both showed no statistical difference. This suggests the potential role of self-like molecules in reducing the inflammatory response to foreign materials.