Surface Modification of Oxygenator Fibers with a Catalytically Active Metal-Organic Framework to Generate Nitric Oxide: An Ex Vivo Pilot Study.

Coating all portions of an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuit with materials exhibiting inherent, permanent antithrombotic properties is an essential step to prevent thrombus-induced complications. However, developing antithrombotic coatings for oxygenator fibers within membrane oxygenators of ECMO systems has proven challenging. We have used polydopamine (PDA) to coat oxygenator fibers and immobilize a Cu-based metal-organic framework (MOF) on the surface to act as a nitric oxide (NO) catalyst. Importantly, the PDA/MOF coating will produce NO indefinitely from endogenous -nitrosothiols and it has not previously been applied to ECMO oxygenator fibers.