Ellipsometric studies in vitro on kinetics of rat complement activation.

The role of complement activation may be important during the early interactions between implantable materials and blood and during the acute inflammatory phase, but it is not well understood. This applies especially to rats that are extensively used in in vivo animal models for materials and surface testing. Features of the kinetics of rat complement activation were studied and compared with human complement by the ellipsometry and antibody techniques. The results indicate that the rat classical pathway is rapidly activated, but it is not as fast as the human system. The activation of the alternative pathway was observed within 5 min in the rat system and within 15 min for the human. Thus, the observations indicate substantial differences in the kinetics between the two species. This may influence the choice of the rat experimental model and the tissue response to materials during in vivo conditions. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.