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Electrospinning Fabrication of Collagen‐based Scaffolds for Vascular Tissue Engineering
Author(s) -
Yoo James J.,
Liu Jie,
Soker Shay,
Komura Makoto,
Lim Grace,
Atala Anthony,
Stitzel Joel
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.a1101-b
Subject(s) - electrospinning , biocompatibility , scaffold , elastin , biomedical engineering , tissue engineering , materials science , nanofiber , polymer , nanotechnology , composite material , pathology , medicine , metallurgy
The goal of this study was to create a biomimetic, small‐diameter vascular graft using electrospinning technology. To accomplish this goal, vascular graft scaffolds have been fabricated by electrospinning polymer blends of 45% collagen type I, 15% elastin, and 40% poly (D,L‐lactide‐co‐glycolide) (50:50) at a total solution concentration of 12% (w/v). Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that fiber sizes of 0.72±0.35 microns diameter were obtained, which mimics the nanoscale dimension of native small diameter vascular matrix. Collagen type I stained positively on the electrospun scaffolds, demonstrating uniform distribution. Movat staining exhibited homogeneous distribution of elastin throughout the electrospun scaffold. Mechanical testing for compliance showed a typical pressure‐diameter curve for electrospun scaffolds. The diameter change was approximately 5% for electrospun scaffolds, which is within the physiologic pressure range for human arteries. Seeding experiments documented that 82% of smooth muscle cells and 78% the endothelial cells survived on the scaffold as analyzed by mitochondrial metabolic (MTT) activity assay. This study shows that electrospun scaffolds exhibit structural features and mechanical behavior similar to native vessels with favorable biocompatibility for vascular cell seeding. Collectively, this study demonstrates the promise of electrospinning as an effective fabrication process for cardiovascular grafts.