Ethyl Hydroxyethyl Cellulose—A Biocompatible Polymer Carrier in Blood

Abstract

The biocompatibility of carrier nanomaterials in blood is largely hampered by their activating or inhibiting role on the clotting system, which in many cases prevents safe intravascular application. Here, we characterized an aqueous colloidal ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose (EHEC) solution and tested its effect on ex vivo clot formation, platelet aggregation, and activation by thromboelastometry, aggregometry, and flow cytometry. We compared the impact of EHEC solution on platelet aggregation with biocompatible materials used in transfusion medicine (the plasma expanders gelatin polysuccinate and hydroxyethyl starch). We demonstrate that the EHEC solution, in contrast to commercial products exhibiting Newtonian flow behavior, resembles the shear-thinning behavior of human blood. Similar to established nanomaterials that are considered biocompatible when added to blood, the EHEC exposure of resting platelets in platelet-rich plasma does not enhance tissue thromboplastin- or ellagic acid-induced blood clotting, or platelet aggregation or activation, as measured by integrin αIIbβ3 activation and P-selectin exposure. Furthermore, the addition of EHEC solution to adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-stimulated platelet-rich plasma does not affect the platelet aggregation induced by this agonist. Overall, our results suggest that EHEC may be suitable as a biocompatible carrier material in blood circulation and for applications in flow-dependent diagnostics.

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“…HEC is a nonionic amphiphilic polysaccharide. [48] The thermal behavior of the HEC solutions is altered by the addition of an ionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate or cetyl triammonium bromide). [49] Ion-activated in situ gel These types of in situ gel cause gelation due to the phase transition in the presence of ions.…”

Structure of Cellulose Ether Affected by Ionic Surfactant and Solvent: A Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Investigation

“…Cellulose ethers exhibit associative behavior in aqueous solutions, form three-dimensional networks, and exhibit unusual rheological properties and distinct phase behavior (e.g., lower critical solution temperature type) because of complex interpolymer associations. , While the macroscopic solution properties of these cellulose derivatives have been studied extensively, characterization of the nanostructure to explain the solution behavior has been challenging. Ethyl­(hydroxyethyl)­cellulose (EHEC) is an interesting cellulose ether with variable amphiphilicity due to the pendant ether groups. − …”