In Vitro Studies

• Human Blood
• Biomaterial – Blood Interactions
• Medical Device – Blood Interaction
  • Static Studies – Materials/devices exposed to blood
  • Flow Studies – Materials/devices exposed to blood flow with various shear rates

Visualization of Blood Cells and Blood Proteins on Surfaces

• Light Microscopy
• Scanning Electron Microscopy
• Transmission Electron Radiolabeling
• Specific Antibody Interactions
• Cytoskeletal Protein Labeling

Post Exposure Studies on Activated Platelets

• Shape Change
• Adhesion
• Aggregation
• p-Selection Expression
• Activation of GPIIbIIIa
• Tissue Factor Expression
• Thromboxane B2 assay

In Vivo Animal and Human Studies

• Animal and human studies on drugs and devices
• Design, supervision and facilitation of Animal studies in conjunction with Experimental Surgical Services, U of M.
  • Eq. Animal Studies – Indium labeled platelets for the detection of device-mediated platelet activation and thrombosis formation pigs.
  • Eq. Human Studies – Screening of aspirin – insensitive subjects, post aspirin studies:
    • Platelet response to arachidonic acid
    • Platelet granule secretion caused by ADP
    • Platelet p-Selection Caused by ADP
    • Radiolabeled arachidonic acid conversion

Thrombosis and Stroke Research

Thrombosis Research

• Design and development of non-thrombogenic biomaterials for cardiovascular applications
• In vitro/in vivo testing of devices for compatibility

Drug Evaluation on Blood/Biomaterial Interaction

• Effect of anti-platelet drugs on:
  • Adhesion
  • Shape change
  • Secretion – ATP
  • p-Selection expression
  • Vessel-wall interaction under flow conditions

Targeted Drug Delivery

• Biopolymer-based techniques for the delivery of drugs to targeted areas
  • Esq. LMW Heparin, RheoPro
  • Stroke Research
• Thrombus Generation
  • In vitro
    • Static-patelet rich plasma, whole blood
    • Flow-platelet rich plasma, whole blood
  • In vivo, ex vivo
    • Animal Studies (ESS)
• Anti-Stroke
  • In vitro
    • Static
    • Flow
  • In vivo
    • Animal Studies (ESS)
• Cerebral Aneurisms
  • Biopolymer and surface modification techniques for the management of aneurisms

Custom Designed Projects

The Blood Biocompatibility Laboratory is able to customize laboratory techniques to meet the needs of your specific projects.

In addition, the BBL is able to utilize the vast resources within the University of Minnesota to create a one-stop shop for blood biocompatibility research, thrombosis research, animal studies and human clinical studies.