title: Hemocompatibility of stent materials: alterations in electrical parameters of erythrocyte membranes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is presently unknown if stents used in the correction of artery stenosis are fully hemocompatible or if their implantation causes alterations at the level of the plasma membrane in red blood cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  We addressed this important issue by measuring the passive electrical properties of the erythrocyte membrane before and after stent insertion by means of dielectric relaxation spectroscopy in the radiowave frequency range in a series of patients who were undergoing standard surgical treatment of arterial disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our findings provide evidence that full hemocompatibility of stents has not yet been reached, and that there are some measurable alterations in the passive electrical behavior of the red blood cell membrane induced by the presence of the stent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is possible that these changes do not have any physiological significance and simply reflect the intrinsic variability of biological samples. However, caution is urged, and the technique we describe here should be considered when investigating the hemocompatibility of a medical device at a cell membrane level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, "P Stefanini," University of Rome "La Sapienza," Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basoli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cametti
authors.forename: F Ginnari
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Satriani
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Severino
mesh_terms: D017130:Angioplasty / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy; D054855:Drug-Eluting Stents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D019344:Lactic Acid; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013193:Stainless Steel
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D013193:Stainless Steel; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide)