title: Development of UV cross-linked gelatin coated electrospun poly(caprolactone) fibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among industrialized countries. Vascular grafts are often required for the surgical treatments. Considering the limitations associated with the use of autografts and with the currently available synthetic materials, a growing demand in tissue engineered vascular grafts has been registered. During the work here described, electrospinning technique was used to prepared fibrous matrices to be applied as vascular implants. For that purpose, electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) fibrous mats were produced and afterwards coated with different hydrogel formulations based in photocrosslinkable gelatin (GelMA) and the macromers poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate (PEGA) and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). These were further photocrosslinked under UV irradiation using Irgacure®2959 (by BASF) as the photoinitiator. The suitability of the coated scaffolds for the intended application, was evaluated by assessing their chemical/physical properties as well as their interaction with blood and endothelial cells.
authors.affiliation: CICS-UBI, Health Sciences Research Center, University of Beira Interior, P-6200 506 Covilhã, Portugal.
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.affiliation: CIEPQPF, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, P-3030 790 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: pferreira@eq.uc.pt.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: CIEPQPF, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, P-3030 790 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.affiliation: CIEPQPF, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, P-3030 790 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: CIEPQPF, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, P-3030 790 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Figueiredo
authors.affiliation: CICS-UBI, Health Sciences Research Center, University of Beira Interior, P-6200 506 Covilhã, Portugal. Electronic address: icorreia@fcsaude.ubi.pt.
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.affiliation: CIEPQPF, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, P-3030 790 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coimbra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D058105:Polymerization; D011817:Rabbits; D013499:Surface Properties; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C437167:poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate; C016240:polycaprolactone; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D005780:Gelatin
keywords: Electrospinning; biocompatibility; gelatin; photocrosslinking; scaffolds