The adhesion of blood platelets on fibrinogen surface: comparison of two biochemical microplate assays

Abstract

The biocompatibility of materials is frequently assessed by blood platelet adhesion, since platelet adhesion plays a considerable role in blood interaction with artificial surfaces. Blood platelets adhesion is an essential event in haemostatic and thrombotic processes. The aim of this study was to simultaneously compare simple biochemical assays widely used for evaluation of platelet static adhesion based on the determination of enzymatic activity of either lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) or acid phosphatase (ACP) in lysates of adhered platelets. Adhesion of platelets from platelet-rich plasma and washed platelets activated by either ADP or thrombin on surfaces covered with fibrinogen and well defined fibrin was studied. The results demonstrated that the amounts of adhered platelets estimated by the LDH method were significantly lower as compared with the amount obtained by ACP method. LDH but not ACP release from platelets during adhesion was shown to take place. It suggests that the LDH method should be used rather as an assay of platelet integrity. The ACP method is much more suitable for quantitative determination of platelet adhesion especially in the development and evaluation of haemocompatibility of new biomaterials.