title: Development of a composite degradable/nondegradable tissue-engineered vascular graft.
abstract: The present study aimed to determine the feasibility of constructing a reinforced autologous vascular graft by combining the advantages of fibrin gel as an autologous cell carrier material with the inherent mechanical strength of an integrated mesh structure. It was hypothesized that the mesh and dynamic culture conditions could be combined to generate mechanically stable and implantable vascular grafts within a shorter cultivation period than traditional methods. A two-step moulding technique was developed to integrate a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) mesh (pore size: 1-2 mm) in the wall of a fibrin-based vascular graft (I.D. 5 mm) seeded with carotid myofibroblasts. The graft was cultured under increasing physiological flow conditions for 2 weeks. Histology, burst strength, and suture retention strength were evaluated. Cell growth and tissue development was excellent within the fibrin gel matrix surrounding the PVDF fibers, and tissue structure demonstrated remarkable similarity to native tissue. The grafts were successfully subjected to physiological flow rates and pressure gradients from the outset, and mechanical properties were enhanced by the mesh structure. Mean suture retention strength of the graft tissue was 6.3 N and the burst strength was 236 mm Hg. Using the vascular composite graft technique, the production of tissue engineered, small-caliber vascular grafts with good mechanical properties within a conditioning period of 14 days is feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tschoeke
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Flanagan
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cornelissen
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roehl
authors.forename: Marvi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sriharwoko
authors.forename: Jörg S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sachweh
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gries
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmitz-Rode
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jockenhoevel
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D019149:Bioreactors; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005337:Fibrin / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011145:Polyvinyls / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D013997:Time Factors; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous / Q000379:methods; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers
chemical_list: D005337:Fibrin; D011145:Polyvinyls; C024865:polyvinylidene fluoride; D005465:Fluorocarbon Polymers