title: Silk-based electrospun tubular scaffolds for tissue-engineered vascular grafts.
abstract: Electrospinning was used to fabricate non-woven nanofibrous tubular scaffolds from Bombyx mori silk fibroin using an all aqueous process. Cell studies and mechanical characterization tests were performed on the electrospun silk tubes to assess the viability of their usage in bioengineering small-diameter vascular grafts. Human endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells were successfully cultured on the electrospun silk. Mechanical characterization tests demonstrated burst strength sufficient to withstand arterial pressures and tensile properties comparable to native vessels. These cellular and mechanics outcomes demonstrate potential utility of these electrospun silk scaffolds for small-diameter vascular grafts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soffer
authors.forename: Xianyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kluge
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dorfmann
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leisk
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D012831:Bombyx / Q000737:chemistry; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000502:physiology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000502:physiology; D036103:Nanotechnology; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D047011:Silk