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A Novel Small‐Caliber Bacterial Cellulose Vascular Prosthesis: Production, Characterization, and Preliminary In Vivo Testing
Author(s) -
Leitão Alexandre F.,
Faria Miguel A.,
Faustino Augusto M. R.,
Moreira Ricardo,
Mela Petra,
Loureiro Luís,
Silva Ivone,
Gama Miguel
Publication year - 2016
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.201500251
Subject(s) - in vivo , vascular graft , caliber , biomedical engineering , ultimate tensile strength , blood vessel , cellulose , bacterial cellulose , chemistry , surgery , materials science , medicine , biology , biochemistry , composite material , microbiology and biotechnology , metallurgy
Vascular grafts are used to bypass damaged or diseased blood vessels. Bacterial cellulose (BC) has been studied for use as an off‐the‐shelf graft. Herein, we present a novel, cost‐effective, method for the production of small caliber BC grafts with minimal processing or requirements. The morphology of the graft wall produced a tensile strength above that of native vessels, performing similarly to the current commercial alternatives. As a result of the production method, the luminal surface of the graft presents similar topography to that of native vessels. We have also studied the in vivo behavior of these BC graft in order to further demonstrate their viability. In these preliminary studies, 1 month patency was achieved, with the presence of neo‐vessels and endothelial cells on the luminal surface of the graft.