In vivo study of Ti-O thin film fabricated by PIII

Over the past decade, much attention has been paid to anti-thrombotic materials applied in artificial organs. Surface modification has shown potential to improve the anti-coagulation of blood-contacting biomedical devices and materials [1-3]. Our in vitro study of Ti-O thin films has recently shown that Ti-O thin films possess superior blood compatibility to low temperature isotropic pyrolytic carbon (LTI-carbon) [1]. In this work, we have focussed our attention onto the in vivo evaluation of Ti-O thin films fabricated by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). The samples of titanium coated by Ti-O thin films were implanted in dogs' hearts for 1 month. The results of the implantation showed that no thrombus was found on the surfaces of the Ti-O thin film, although the coagulation occurred on the surfaces of LTI-carbon. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.