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Updated: Oct 30, 2025
Implantation of Electrospun Vascular Grafts with Optimized Structure in a Rat Model
Published on: June 27, 2018
Anticoagulant Hydrogel Tubes with Poly(ɛ-Caprolactone) Sheaths for Small-Diameter Vascular Grafts
Chunliang Zhang1,2, Qian Xie3, Ruitao Cha2
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Science and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), No. 29 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Small-diameter vascular grafts (inner diameter < 6 mm) are useful in treating cardiovascular diseases. The off-the-shelf small-diameter vascular grafts for clinical applications remain a great limitation owing to their thrombogenicity or intimal hyperplasia. Herein, bilayer anticoagulant hydrogel tubes with poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) sheaths are prepared by freeze-thawing and electrospinning, which contain nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-heparin/poly-L-lysine nanoparticles tube as an inner layer and PCL sheath as an outer layer. The structure, anticoagulant property, and biocompatibility of the inner layer are studied. The effects of thickness of the outer layer on perfusion performance and mechanical property of hydrogel tubes with PCL sheaths (PCL-NFC/PVA-NPs tubes) are investigated. The effect of compliance of PCL-NFC/PVA-NPs tubes on their blood flow is studied by numerical simulation. The tissue compatibility and the patency of PCL-NFC/PVA-NPs tubes are evaluated by implantation in subcutaneous tissue of rats and carotid artery of rabbits. PCL-NFC/PVA-NPs tubes have prominent anticoagulation, sufficient burst pressure and good compliance similar to native arteries. PCL-NFC/PVA-NPs tubes facilitate infiltration of host cells and achieve active proliferation of recruited cells, which will be a promising candidate for small-diameter vascular grafts.
