Electrospun vascular grafts fabricated from poly( L -lactide-co- ε -caprolactone) used as a bypass for the rabbit carotid artery

Abstract

The study involved the electrospinning of the copolymer poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) into tubular grafts. The subsequent material characterization, including micro-computed tomography analysis, revealed a level of porosity of around 70%, with pore sizes of 9.34 ± 0.19 μm and fiber diameters of 5.58 ± 0.10 μm. Unlike fibrous polycaprolactone, the electrospun PLCL copolymer promoted fibroblast and endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation in vitro. Moreover, the regeneration of the vessel wall was detected following implantation and, after six months, the endothelialization of the lumen and the infiltration of arranged smooth muscle cells producing collagen was observed. However, the degradation rate was found to be accelerated in the rabbit animal model. The study was conducted under conditions that reflected the clinical requirements-the prostheses were sutured in the end-to-side fashion and the long-term end point of prosthesis healing was assessed. The regeneration of the vessel wall in terms of endothelialization, smooth cell infiltration and the presence of collagen fibers was observed after six months in vivo. A part of the grafts failed due to the rapid degradation rate of the PLCL copolymer.

Biological small-calibre tissue engineered blood vessels developed by electrospinning and in-body tissue architecture

“…PLCL shows good elasticity and biocompatibility and slow biodegradation [ 14 ]. In a rabbit animal model, the degradation rate of PLCL was approximately six months in vivo [ 15 ]. PU is well known for its mechanical properties and appropriate biocompatibility, especially for its high tensile strength and toughness, making it one of the most important synthetic polymers for the fabrication of vascular grafts [ 16 ].…”

Clinical implications of inflammation in atheroma formation and novel therapies in cardiovascular diseases

“…To date, most of the studies have been conducted on rats and rabbits. Moreover, there is a need for longer in vivo studies (>12 months) since the patency rate is still considerably lower than in autologous grafts ( Horakova et al, 2018 ).…”

Electrospun nanofiber scaffold for vascular tissue engineering

“…A confluent layer of VSMCs was observed on the outer surface and were present on all layers of the dynamically cultured graft compared to just a few on the statically cultured one. Horakova et al [61] created a tubular graft from 70:30 PLCL. In vitro studies showed that PLCL scaffolds better supported viability and proliferation of 3 T3 mouse fibroblasts and endothelial cells after 14 days in static culture compared to PCL scaffolds.…”