In the Institute Biofunctional Polymer Materials of the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), Manfred Maitz is the group leader for hemocompatible surfaces. In addition, he has ongoing collaboration and is Guest Professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University Chengdu, where he has annual research stays for about one month.
The focus of his research is on feedback responsive materials to control blood coagulation and inflammatory responses at implant surfaces in blood. Control of coagulation and inflammation is relevant for vascular stents, artificial heart valves, hemodialysis membranes or tubings for extracorporeal circulation, etc.
The physiological regulation of pathways is adjusted to the actual activation level. A responsive hydrogel has been developed by cross-linking the anticoagulant heparin with 4-armed PEG via specific coagulation-sensitive linker peptides. Activated blood coagulation factors degrade this hydrogel. The anticoagulant release is dose-adjusted to the level of coagulation activation [1, 4].
Current work is on a further exploration of feedback-responsive systems for other applications.
Key Publications
- Maitz M.F., Zitzmann J., Hanke J., Renneberg C., Tsurkan M.V., Sperling C., Freudenberg U., Werner C. Adaptive release of heparin from anticoagulant hydrogels triggered by different blood coagulation factors. Biomaterials 135: 53-61 (2017). doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.04.044
- Herklotz M., Hanke J., Hänsel S., Drichel J., Marx M., Maitz M.F., Werner C. Biomaterials trigger endothelial cell activation in co-incubation with human whole blood. Biomaterials 104: 258-268 (2016). doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.07.022
- Maitz M.F. Applications of synthetic polymers in clinical medicine. Biosurf Biotribol 1: 161-176 (2015). doi:10.1016/j.bsbt.2015.08.002
- Maitz M.F., Freudenberg U., Tsurkan M.V., Fischer M., Beyrich T., Werner C. Bio-responsive polymer hydrogels homeostatically regulate blood coagulation. Nature Commun (2013). doi:10.1038/ncomms3168
- Sperling C., Fischer M., Maitz M.F., Werner C. Blood coagulation on biomaterials requires the combination of distinct activation processes. Biomaterials 30: 4447-4456 (2009). doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2009.05.044
- Werner C., Maitz M.F., Sperling C. Current strategies towards hemocompatible coatings. J Mater Chem 17: 3376-3384 (2007). doi:10.1039/b703416b