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Updated: May 12, 2026
Implantation of Electrospun Vascular Grafts with Optimized Structure in a Rat Model
Published on: June 27, 2018
Electrospun rapamycin-eluting polyurethane fibers for vascular grafts
Jingjia Han1, Shady Farah, Abraham J Domb
1School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Purpose:
To develop rapamycin-eluting electrospun polyurethane (PU) vascular grafts that could effectively suppress local smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation.
Methods:
Rapamycin (RM) was incorporated in PU fibers by blend electrospinning using three distinct blending methods. The drug release profiles and the bioavailability of RM-containing PU fibers in the form of fibrous mats and vascular grafts were evaluated up to 77 days in vitro.
Results:
RM-contained PU fibers generated by the three distinct blending methods exhibited significantly different fiber diameters (200-500 nm) and distinct RM release kinetics. Young's moduli of the electrospun fibrous mats increased with higher RM contents and decreased with larger fiber diameters. For all blending methods, RM release kinetics was characteristic of a Fickian diffusion for at least 77 days in vitro. RM-PU fibers generated via powder blending showed the highest encapsulation efficiency. The RM in grafts made of these fibers remained bioactive and was still able to inhibit smooth muscle cell proliferation after 77 days of continual in vitro release.
Conclusions:
Electrospun RM-containing PU fibers can serve as effective drug carriers for the local suppression of SMC proliferation and could be used as RM-eluting scaffolds for vascular grafts.
