title: Crosslinked acellular saphenous vein for small-diameter vascular graft.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with congenital and acquired heart diseases or arteriopathy require small-diameter vascular grafts for arterial reconstruction. Autologous veins are the most suitable graft, but when absent, an alternative is necessary. This work addresses the issue.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Tissue-engineering efforts to create such grafts by modifications of acellular natural scaffolds are considered a promising area.
  
  
  METHODS
  Homologous saphenous veins harvested from cadavers and organ donors were processed by decellularization with detergent and enzymatic digestion, followed by crosslinking by dye-mediated photooxidation. They were validated for acellularity, mechanical strength, and crosslink stability. In-vitro and in-vivo cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility studies were conducted. Collagen conformity was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and heat stability by differential scanning calorimetry. A limited large animal study was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The processing method delivered biocompatible, hemocompatible, effectively crosslinked grafts, with high heat stability of 126 , an enthalpy value of 183.5 J·g(-1), and collagen conformity close to that of the native vein. The mechanical strength was 250% better than the native vein. The presence of extracellular matrix proteins allowed the acellular vein to become a triple-layered vascular structure in the sheep venous system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Crosslinking after decellularization by the dye-mediated photooxidation method could be reproduced in any human vein to obtain a small-diameter vascular grafts.
authors.affiliation: Frontier Lifeline Pvt. Ltd and Dr K M Cherian Heart Foundation, Mogappair, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Balasundari
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ramesh
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mathapati
authors.forename: Satish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galla
authors.forename: Kotturathu Mammen
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Cherian
authors.forename: Soma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guhathakurta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002102:Cadaver; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation; D012756:Sheep; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D003094:Collagen
keywords: Biocompatible materials; blood vessel prosthesis; materials testing; saphenous vein; vascular diseases