An improved method for bonding heparin to intravascular cannulae.

The patency of chronically implanted intravascular cannulae is usually limited by thrombus formation at the cannula tip. In the present experiments, methods of improving the antithrombotic properties of the cannulae have been examined using a number of different heparin-bonding treatments. These treatments were evaluated by determining cannula patency in the thoracic aorta of a chronically cannulated rat preparation. Cannulae treated with a heparin-bonding procedure remained patent longer than untreated cannulae. Cannulae treated with tridodecylmethylammonium chloride-heparin-glutaraldehyde remained patent longest (mean patency, 13.3 days compared with 4.0 days in rats with untreated cannulae). This technique provides a simple and effective method of improving the antithrombotic properties of intravascular cannulae by bonding heparin to the lumenal and extralumenal surfaces.