title: Evaluation of experimental methods for nitric oxide release from cardiovascular implants; bypass grafts as an exemplar.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a great potential for nitric oxide (NO) eluting biomaterials in biomedical applications. These include the development of cardiovascular implants, wound healing products, or applications in cancer and respiratory therapy. While the potential of these materials as a therapy is becoming clearer, the real-time monitoring of NO is not easy and the success in the development of such materials depends on the accurate quantification of NO release.
  
  
  METHODS
  To emphasize on the importance of a measurement technique on the outcome of an experiment, we compared total NO released from S-nitroso-N-acetyl-d-penicillamine (SNAP) incorporated nanocomposite polymer in the form of bypass grafts under simulated physiological conditions using amperometric and chemiluminescence techniques.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the total amount of NO measured by the amperometric technique was 35.8% of the theoretical amount. Similarly, on measuring NO release from the bypass grafts, we demonstrated that the chemiluminesence technique detected NO at a relatively higher level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study clearly demonstrate the relative difference between analysis techniques for accurate NO detection that can be applied to distinct experimental models associated with NO-eluting cardiovascular implants.
authors.affiliation: UCL Centre for Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: Noora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Naghavi
authors.affiliation: UCL Centre for Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, University College London, UKRoyal Free London NHS Foundation Trust Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Seifalian
authors.affiliation: UCL Centre for Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, University College London, UKRoyal Free London NHS Foundation Trust Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.affiliation: Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine, University College London, UCL Centre for Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, Royal Free NHS Trust Hospital, Pond Street, London, NW3 2QG, UK a.mel@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Achala
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Mel
mesh_terms: D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007700:Kinetics; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D008422:Materials Testing; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis*; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors / Q000737:chemistry*; D011199:Potentiometry; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D026423:S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D026423:S-Nitroso-N-Acetylpenicillamine
keywords: S-nitrosothiols; amperometric; cardiovascular implants; chemiluminescence; nitric oxide