Biomechanical Scaffolds of Decellularized Heart Valves Modified by Electrospun Polylactic Acid

Enhancing the mechanical properties and cytocompatibility of decellularized heart valves is the key to promote the application of biological heart valves. In order to further improve the mechanical properties, the electrospinning and non-woven processing methods are combined to prepare the polylactic acid (PLA)/decellularized heart valve nanofiber-reinforced sandwich structure electrospun scaffold. The effect of electrospinning time on the performance of decellularized heart valve is investigated from the aspects of morphology, mechanical properties, softness, and biocompatibility of decellularized heart valve. Results of the mechanical tests show that compared with the pure decellularized heart valve, the mechanical properties of the composite heart valve were significantly improved with the tensile strength increasing by 108% and tensile strain increased by 571% when the electrospinning time exceeded 2 h. In addition, with this electrospinning time, the composite heart valve has a certain promoting effect on the human umbilical vein endothelial cells proliferation behavior. This work provides a promising foundation for tissue heart valve reendothelialization to lay the groundwork for organoid.