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Updated: Oct 10, 2026

Engineering Biological-Based Vascular Grafts Using a Pulsatile Bioreactor
Published on: June 14, 2011
Dynamic Molecular Engineering Occluder for Spatiotemporally Adaptable Complex Tissue Repair
Yalin Zhang1, Yi Chen2,3, Hongfei Huang2,3
1State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering of Donghua University, Research Base of Textile Materials for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications (China Textile Engineering Society), Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano-Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Tracheal fistula is a life-threatening disorder for which no current therapy can simultaneously provide immediate airway rescue and long-term functional regeneration. Here we report a completely biodegradable, cell-free, off-the-shelf therapeutic construct that enables spatiotemporally matched repair by dynamically adapting to the evolving physiological demands of healing. The system integrates dynamic covalent and non-covalent interactions with distinct response timescales across spatially stratified layers, thereby supporting acute functional substitution, intermediate regenerative integration, and late-stage tissue replacement within a single intervention. In rabbit models, the construct achieved immediate airtight sealing and restoration of ventilation, improved survival from 0% to 100%, and enabled native-like tracheal regeneration with ciliated epithelium. In head-to-head comparisons, it outperformed both clinical flap repair and tissue-engineered graft repair in functional epithelial reconstruction. In a goat model, it maintained airway patency under human-scale physiological conditions. These findings establish a clinically relevant strategy for tracheal fistula repair and show that dynamically adaptive materials can bridge the gap between acute intervention and functional regeneration.

