Abstract

A well-established treatment for atherosclerosis disease, initiated by the absorption of cholesterol carriers or lowdensity lipoproteins (LDL) into the endothelium, is the implantation of stents to restore blood flow in vessels. The reincorporation of LDL into the endothelium through the stent is a problem and a challenge for new treatments. This work presents a novel alternative that can potentially decrease the reincorporation of LDL into the endothelium through a functionalization strategy of reduced and nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (NrGO) with cysteamine (f-NrGO). This material was used to reinforce an electrospun polymeric membrane for stents that can repel LDL, keeping them away from the endothelium due to the negative electrical charge repulsion effect conferred by the f-NrGO. Furthermore, the cysteamine functionalization process creates strong bonds between the NrGO and the polymer, preventing the NrGO sheets from detaching from the membrane, this is essential to avoid the loss of functionality of the membrane. A simplified blood flow test bench with simulated cardiovascular conditions demonstrated the successful effect of the functionalization strategy over f-NrGO's ability to stay attached to the membrane. Finally, contact angle tests proved the membrane repulsion response to LDL. This behavior is promising for applications such as covered cardiovascular stents.