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Micropatterning Electrospun Scaffolds to Create Intrinsic Vascular Networks
Author(s) -
Jeffries Eric M.,
Nakamura Shintaro,
Lee KeeWon,
Clampffer Jimmy,
Ijima Hiroyuki,
Wang Yadong
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201400306
Subject(s) - micropatterning , biomedical engineering , electrospinning , tissue engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , materials science , polymer , composite material , medicine
Sufficient vascularization is critical to sustaining viable tissue‐engineered (TE) constructs after implantation. Despite significant progress, current approaches lack suturability, porosity, and biodegradability, which hinders rapid perfusion and remodeling in vivo . Consequently, TE vascular networks capable of direct anastomosis to host vasculature and immediate perfusion upon implantation still remain elusive. Here, a hybrid fabrication method is presented for micropatterning fibrous scaffolds that are suturable, porous, and biodegradable. Fused deposition modeling offers an inexpensive and automated approach to creating sacrificial templates with vascular‐like branching. By electrospinning around these poly(vinyl alcohol) templates and dissolving them in water, microvascular patterns were transferred to fibrous scaffolds. Results indicated that these scaffolds have sufficient suture retention strength to permit direct anastomosis in future studies. Vascularization of these scaffolds is demonstrated by in vitro endothelialization and perfusion.