# Enhanced Prosthetic Vascular Graft Function by Local Release of Nitric Oxide

> **NIH NIH R41** · NYTRICX INC. · 2024 · $311,824

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Endograft infection, neointimal proliferation, and thrombosis are the three main clinical complications with ePTFE
stent grafts affecting patients following endovascular arterial repair. These complicating factors often lead to
restenosis, elevated risk for cardiac events, and device failure. Clinically available covered stent grafts are
composed of porous hydrophobic polymeric (i.e., ePTFE) or bare metal surfaces that facilitate protein and cell-
surface interactions leading to downstream cell accumulation, biofilm growth, and clinical complications. Current
clinical standards include anticoagulation therapy before and after interventional procedures, while heparin-
bonded stent grafts have shown moderate success at attenuating thrombosis. However, heparin-bonded stent
grafts do not address infection and neointimal proliferation. There are no FDA-approved coated ePTFE products
that can rigorously address all three complications – infection, neointimal proliferation, and thrombosis, in a single
platform. We have recently demonstrated how nitric oxide (NO)-releasing polymer technologies can be
integrated into medical devices to create highly biocompatible interfaces with the potential to prevent infection,
proliferation, and thrombosis. NO is a multifaceted, endogenous gasotransmitter used by both the immune and
cardiovascular systems to eradicate pathogens, disperse biofilms, maintain platelet quiescence, and regulate
cell proliferation. By covalently attaching a synthetic NO donor (S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine, SNAP) onto
silicone rubber (PDMS), we can achieve NO-releasing materials (SNAP-PDMS) that exhibit >4 months of NO
release at the blood-material interface to regulate these cellular processes. This enables a broad strategy against
endograft infection, neointimal proliferation, and thrombosis, improving device patency and clinical outcomes.
Therefore, the main objective of this STTR proposal is two develop endograft devices that integrate the SNAP-
PDMS polymer technology to achieve long-term (> 30-d) release of NO at the device interface to reduce the
incidence of infection, neointimal proliferation, and thrombosis all of which contribute to prosthetic graft failure.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11005472
- **Project number:** 1R41HL176245-01
- **Recipient organization:** NYTRICX INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark Richard Stephen Garren
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $311,824
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11005472

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11005472, Enhanced Prosthetic Vascular Graft Function by Local Release of Nitric Oxide (1R41HL176245-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11005472. Licensed CC0.

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