An albumin-coated polyester arterial prosthesis made ready to anastomose: in vitro evaluation

Abstract

The concept of polyester arterial grafts impregnated with a bioerodible coating is now widely accepted as worthy of investigation. Gelatin- and collagen-coated grafts are commercially available, ready to anastomose and thus do not require any processing in the operating room. The albumin-coated graft (ACG), a Vasculour ll impregnated with albumin now being introduced by Bard Cardiosurgery, does not require rehydration or rinsing. We hereby report its in vitro evaluation in terms of biodegradability of the coating and physical characteristics. When measuring the blood permeability, one can observe that the wall is made impervious in the case of crosslinked albumin impregnation after one minute, yet it requires approximately three minutes after preclotting to make the wall blood-tight.