[Fabrication and evaluation of a new decellularized tissue engineered blood vessel scaffold]

The aim of this study was to fabricate an ideal nature-based tissue engineered blood vessel (TEBV) scaffold. It should have several special characteristics such as little immunogenicity and good biocompatibility, and it should be similar in mechanical property to fresh tissue. New-got canine aortas were dipped in ion-free water for 12 h under 4 degrees C to make the cells disrupted, then fixed in a kind of polyepoxy compounds solution (EX-810) for 72 h, and finally treated with sonication to remove the cell debris. Histological slices of the TEBV scaffold were stained with H&E. The results showed that our method could effectively remove the cells in fresh tissues because there was no visible nuclear stain. A series of biomechanical analyses revealed that these TEBV scaffold had nearly the same mechanical properties as fresh tissues. Also, these TEBV scaffolds showed good cell-compatibility, and their surfaces were suitable for endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells to grow on.