Electrospun scaffolds for tissue engineering of vascular grafts

Abstract

There is a growing demand for off-the-shelf tissue engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) for replacement or bypass of damaged arteries in various cardiovascular diseases. Scaffolds from the decellularized tissue skeletons to biopolymers and biodegradable synthetic polymers have been used for fabricating TEVGs. However, several issues have not yet been resolved, which include the inability to mimic the mechanical properties of native tissues, and the ability for long term patency and growth required for in vivo function. Electrospinning is a popular technique for the production of scaffolds that has the potential to address these issues. However, its application to human TEVGs has not yet been achieved. This review provides an overview of tubular scaffolds that have been prepared by electrospinning with potential for TEVG applications.

Pcl/Chitosan Blended Nanofibrous Tubes Made by Dual Syringe Electrospinning

“…Tubular samples with wall thicknesses 0.3-0.4 mm and mechanical properties matching native blood vessels [3] could be successfully fabricated, thus proving that mechanically stable grafts may be fabricated by PCL/CS tubular electrospinning. The combination of PCL and CS dissolved in AcOH proved to be the most suitable solution for the electrospinning of blended PCL/CS nanofibrous tubes.…”

“…Despite the well-known difficulties to fabricate tubular samples with adequate wall thicknesses and tensile strengths, testing of these properties is avoided in most studies [3]. Also, in all present studies, the result of blended PCL/CS electrospinning is a homogeneous nanofibrous mat on which the PCL and CS fibres are not morphologically distinguishable, which could lead to reduced pore sizes [14].…”

“…The combination of biodegradable polymers, which exhibit good properties for cell material interactions (e.g. biocompatibility, cell ingrowth and cell attachment) with synthetic polymers, which possess the required mechanical strength is a common attempt in vascular tissue engineering [3].…”

“…To overcome this restriction, much effort has been put in the development of scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering, which meet all requirements for an optimal vascular graft (e.g. mechanical support, biocompatibility, cell attachment…) [3].…”

Effect of Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes(MWNTs) on Structural and Mechanical Properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutirate) Electrospun Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications

“…Di erent natural and synthetic materials have been used for the manufacture of three-dimensional sca olds [7][8][9][10]. Since the sizes of the majority of components of the extracellular matrix, such as porosities and the diameters of the bers comprising them, are at nano-scales, use of nano-bers in tissue engineering has drawn a lot of attention in recent years [11][12][13]. Di erent techniques are available for the synthesis of nano-scale bers of which the electrospinning technique is more important than others due to its controllability and low cost.…”