AB168. Evaluation of the biocompatibility of packing materials for a catheter

Objective: The necessity for biocompatible packing materials has become important as the increasing of using implantable medical devices. In this study, we investigated the biocompatibility of platinum-catalyzed silicone (Ecoflex^®) as a packing material in the rats.

Methods: Twenty 12-week white male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The rats were assigned to four experimental groups: control, non-coating metal, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and Ecoflex^®. After a ball-shaped materials coated with PDMS and Ecoflex^® were implanted into the bladder of rats, we compared the biocompatibility of non-coating metal, PDMS, and Ecoflex^® by analyzing changes in the levels of macrophages and inflammatory cytokines in the bladder.

Results: Increased macrophage activity in the urothelium of the bladder was observed in PDMS and Ecoflex^®. However, the increasing macrophage activity in PDMS and Ecoflex was not higher than non-coating metal (P<0.05). Increased inflammatory cytokine such as IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in PDMS and Ecoflex^® were showed significantly difference compared with those of non-coating metal (P<0.05).

Conclusions: In our study, we suggested that PDMS and Ecoflex^® might be used as safe packing materials for a catheter-intergrated bladder pressure sensor.

Keywords: Biocompatible material; bladder sensor