Fabrication of triple-layered vascular scaffolds by combining electrospinning, braiding, and thermally induced phase separation

Abstract

Triple-layered small diameter vascular scaffolds, which consisted of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and silk, were fabricated in this study for the first time by combining electrospinning, braiding, and thermally induced phase separation methods. These novel vascular scaffolds, which possess three layers of different structures (nanofibrous inner layer, woven silk filament middle layer, and porous outer layer), can mimic the structure of native blood vessels. The vascular scaffolds have a desirable toe region in tensile tests and sufficient suture retention and burst pressure for vascular graft applications. Endothelial cell culture tests showed that a cell layer could form on the inner surface of the scaffold with high cell viability and favorable morphology.