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Intravital fluorescent microscopic evaluation of bacterial cellulose as scaffold for vascular grafts
Author(s) -
Esguerra Maricris,
Fink Helen,
Laschke Matthias W.,
Jeppsson Anders,
Delbro Dick,
Gatenholm Paul,
Menger Michael D.,
Risberg Bo
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.32516
Subject(s) - biocompatibility , biomaterial , intravital microscopy , biomedical engineering , neovascularization , histology , bacterial cellulose , materials science , tissue engineering , granulation tissue , blood vessel , fluorescence microscope , anatomy , pathology , angiogenesis , medicine , microcirculation , surgery , chemistry , cellulose , wound healing , fluorescence , metallurgy , radiology , physics , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry , psychiatry
Although commonly used synthetic vascular grafts perform satisfactorily in large caliber blood vessels, they are prone to thrombosis in small diameter vessels. Therefore, small vessels might benefit from tissue engineered vascular grafts. This study evaluated bacterial cellulose (BC) as a potential biomaterial for biosynthetic blood vessels. We implanted the dorsal skinfold chambers in three groups of Syrian golden hamsters with BC (experimental group), polyglycolic acid, or expanded polytetrafluorethylene (control groups). Following implantation, we used intravital fluorescence microscopy, histology, and immunohistochemistry to analyze the biocompatibility, neovascularization, and incorporation of each material over a time period of 2 weeks. Biocompatibility was good in all groups, as indicated by the absence of leukocyte activation upon implantation. All groups displayed angiogenic response in the host tissue, but that response was highest in the polyglycolic acid group. Histology revealed vascularized granulation tissue surrounding all three biomaterials, with many proliferating cells and a lack of apoptotic cell death 2 weeks after implantation. In conclusion, BC offers good biocompatibility and material incorporation compared with commonly used materials in vascular surgery. Thus, BC represents a promising new biomaterial for tissue engineering of vascular grafts. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2010