Improving Blood Compatibility of Intravascular Oxygen Sensors Via Catalytic Decomposition of S-Nitrosothiols to Generate Nitric Oxide In Situ.

Reliable, real-time, in vivo sensing (intravascular) of blood gases and electrolytes remains a difficult challenge owing to biocompatibility issues that occur when chemical sensors are implanted into the blood stream. Recently, local release of nitric oxide (NO) at the sensor/blood interface has been suggested as a potential solution to this problem. However, the lifetime of NO release from thin polymer films coated on implanted sensors is limited by the reservoir of NO donor loaded within the polymeric coating.