TiN coating: Physico-chemistry and leukocyte adhesion

The left ventricular assist device under consideration in this paper is based on the principle of the Maillard-Wenkel rotary pump. Construction materials must meet stringent requirements. Titanium Nitride (TiN) has been chosen for its surface properties. The purpose of this study was to characterize the Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) TiN coating, to evaluate in vitro leukocyte adhesion and to confront these results. The surface state results were similar ; leukocyte adhesion was low but twice larger on TiN than on the reference medical grade elastomer.