Use of 3D Printing for the Development of Biodegradable Antiplatelet Materials for Cardiovascular Applications

Abstract

Small-diameter synthetic vascular grafts are required for surgical bypass grafting when there is a lack of suitable autologous vessels due to different reasons, such as previous operations. Thrombosis is the main cause of failure of small-diameter synthetic vascular grafts when used for this revascularization technique. Therefore, the development of biodegradable vascular grafts capable of providing a localized and sustained antithrombotic drug release mark a major step forward in the fight against cardiovascular diseases, which are the leading cause of death globally. The present paper describes the use of an extrusion-based 3D printing technology for the production of biodegradable antiplatelet tubular grafts for cardiovascular applications. For this purpose, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) was chosen as a model molecule due to its antiplatelet activity. Poly(caprolactone) and ASA were combined for the fabrication and characterization of ASA-loaded tubular grafts. Moreover, rifampicin (RIF) was added to the formulation containing the higher ASA loading, as a model molecule that can be used to prevent vascular prosthesis infections. The produced tubular grafts were fully characterized through multiple techniques and the last step was to evaluate their drug release, antiplatelet and antimicrobial activity and cytocompatibility. The results suggested that these materials were capable of providing a sustained ASA release for periods of up to 2 weeks. Tubular grafts containing 10% (w/w) of ASA showed lower platelet adhesion onto the surface than the blank and grafts containing 5% (w/w) of ASA. Moreover, tubular grafts scaffolds containing 1% (w/w) of RIF were capable of inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus. Finally, the evaluation of the cytocompatibility of the scaffold samples revealed that the incorporation of ASA or RIF into the composition did not compromise cell viability and proliferation at short incubation periods (24 h).

A New and Sensitive HPLC-UV Method for Rapid and Simultaneous Quantification of Curcumin and D-Panthenol: Application to In Vitro Release Studies of Wound Dressings

“…This different phenomenon could be explained by the different solubility of CUR and DPA in water. DPA is a water-soluble compound [ 38 ], while CUR is practically insoluble in water at acidic and neutral pH values [ 39 ]. Considering the hydrophobic nature of CUR, Tween ® 80 was added to the release media to maintain sink conditions for CUR release [ 29 , 40 , 41 ].…”

3D-printed implantable devices with biodegradable rate-controlling membrane for sustained delivery of hydrophobic drugs

“…Moreover, this family of technologies has the potential to produce structures of precise shapes from a 3D model by deposition of material in a layer-by-layer fashion, thus providing the ability to manufacture patient specific implantable devices (Chen et al., 2017 ; Martin et al., 2021 ). The high degree of flexibility and controllability of this approach could be used to produce a tailored and accurate treatment regime designed to exactly match the individual patient and condition to be treated (Khaled et al., 2014 ; S. Stewart et al., 2020 ; S. A. Stewart et al., 2020 ; Domínguez-Robles et al., 2021 ).…”

Development of Biodegradable Polymeric Stents for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases

“…The manufacturing method plays an important role in the stent properties and the success rate of implantation. Below, we evaluate the various methods for the preparation of biodegradable stents, such as laser cutting [ 15 ], injection molding [ 16 ], weaving [ 17 ], 3D printing [ 18 ], and so on ( Table 1 ).…”