title: The development and mechanical characterisation of a novel reinforced venous conduit that mimics the mechanical properties of an arterial wall.
abstract: Venous grafts have been used to bypass stenotic arteries for many decades. However, this "gold standard" treatment is far from optimal, with long-term vein graft patency rates reported to be as low as 50% at >15 years. These results could be a result of the structural and functional differences of veins compared to arteries. In this study we developed a new protocol for manufacturing reinforced fresh veins with a decellularized porcine arterial scaffold. This novel method was designed to be replicated easily in a surgical setting, and manufactured reinforced constructs were robust and easier to handle than the veins alone. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these Reinforced Venous-Arterial Conduits have comparable mechanical properties to native arteries, in terms of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) (2.36 vs. 2.24MPa) and collagen dominant phase (11.04 vs. 12.26MPa). Therefore, the Reinforced Venous-Arterial Conduit combines the benefits of using the current gold standard homogenous venous grafts composed of a confluent endothelial surface, with an "off-the-shelf" decellularized artery to improve the mechanical properties to closely mimic those of native arteries, while maintaining the self-repairing characteristics of native tissue. In conclusion in this study we have produced a construct and a new technique that combines the mechanical properties of both a natural vein and a decellularized artery to produce a reinforced venous graft that closely mimics the mechanical response of an arterial segment.
authors.affiliation: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Eimear B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.affiliation: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Gillian M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Gunning
authors.affiliation: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Travis A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cooney
authors.affiliation: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research Centre (AMBER), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Anatomy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Tatiane
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eufrasio
authors.affiliation: Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, 152-160 Pearse Street, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research Centre (AMBER), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. Electronic address: bruce.murphy@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: Bruce P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta; D001158:Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D003094:Collagen; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014680:Veins / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen
keywords: Decellularized tissue; Tensile properties; Vascular grafts