A cone-and-plate device for the investigation of platelet biomaterial interactions.

A device based on the cone-and-plate flow geometry commonly employed for viscometry was developed for the investigation of cell-surface interactions. The cone-and-plate geometry is capable of generating uniform, constant shear-rate flow fields, and control of cone rotational speed allows for easy variation of fluid shear rate. The current design is adapted for use with any material that is available in the form of a flat plate (film or coating). It also allows for replicate samples (the same or different surfaces) to be evaluated simultaneously. The device was tested under varying flow conditions for its ability to measure platelet adhesion from suspensions of washed platelets containing red cells. Collagen- and albumin-coated polymer materials were used as "standard" surfaces of known platelet reactivity (high and low, respectively). Adhesion to the collagen-coated surface was measured over a range of shear rate from 0 to 300 s(-1) and times up to 15 min. Platelet adhesion was observed to increase with increasing shear rate and time. Adhesion was significantly higher in the presence of red cells as has been observed by others. Effective platelet diffusion coefficients, calculated from the data on adhesion to the collagen surface, increased with increasing shear rate. Very little platelet adhesion to the albumin-coated surface, known to be unreactive to platelets, was observed when measured over a 15 min time period at 300 s(-1) shear rate, indicating that the device itself does not stimulate the platelets in the flow field. The data generated provide validation for this device as a simple means of measuring cell adhesion under controlled flow conditions to any smooth surface available in flat plate form.