Patterning surfaces for controlled platelet adhesion and detection of dysfunctional platelets.

Platelets play a fundamental role in thrombus formation and in the pathogenesis of arterial thrombosis. Patterning surfaces for controlled platelet adhesion paves the way for adhesion and activation mechanisms in platelets and detection of platelet functional defects. Here, a new and simple method based on controlled polymerization of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) on the surface of styrene-block-(ethylene-co-butylene)-block-styrene (SEBS) is shown. The competition between polymerization and degradation enables platelet adhesion on SEBS to be switched on and off. The adhesive sites of the platelets can be down to single cell level, and the dysfunctional platelets can be quantitatively detected.