Speaker
Description
Small-diameter vascular conduits for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases are in high demand. Bioprinting a patient-specific blood vessel is an attractive alternative, however, the inferior mechanical properties of cell-laden hydrogels is a major drawback. Here, we present a combined electrospinning and bioprinting technique in which electrospun nanofibers and cell-laden hydrogels are used to fabricate a layered vascular graft similar to those found in natural blood vessels. Polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibres loaded with heparin offered an active surface for the endothelial cells (ECs) to grow in a rotating bioreactor. The PCL nanofibrous layer also acted as a barrier to restrict the migration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) toward the lumen of the engineered vascular graft. The cell survival rates of ECs and SMCs at week 2 and week 4 were found to be greater than 80%, along with the substantial amount of collagen deposition after 4 weeks of cell culture. Hence, the presented method could be used to biofabricate a vascular graft for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
64057804888