We have been doing studies on blood-biomaterial interactions for over two decades. We have authored over 300 publications related to platelet biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology. We also have published a handbook on the subject: Handbook of Platelet Physiology and Pharmacology (Gundu H. R.Rao, Editor) Kluver Academic Publishers, 1999. ISBN # 0-7923-8538-1. Over the years we have been consulted by majority of the cardiovascular device companies in the Twin Cities area.

We have been using freshly obtained human blood for all our studies. We custom-design the testing perfusion chamber as needed for individual studies and expose the devices to the flowing blood at physiological shear force. We scan the exposed surface for blood and blood cells by a variety of methods standardized in our laboratory (light/fluorescence imaging, SEM etc.,). We also analyze the activation status of blood cells by using appropriate activation markers. We have access to biological image processing laboratory, surface characterization laboratory, flow cytometer facility, electron microscopy centers at the Twin Cities campus as well as at the St. Paul Campus.

Our greatest strengths are, our research experience in the area of thrombosis research for over three decades, access to the state of-the-art surface characterization facilities and ability to custom design each study to meet the individual needs of the device company.