Novel electrospun polyurethane/gelatin composite meshes for vascular grafts

Abstract

Novel polymeric micro-nanostructure meshes as blood vessels substitute have been developed and investigated as a potential solution to the lack of functional synthetic small diameter vascular prosthesis. A commercial elastomeric polyurethane (Tecoflex EG-80A) and a natural biopolymer (gelatin) were successfully co-electrospun from different spinnerets on a rotating mandrel to obtain composite meshes benefiting from the mechanical characteristics of the polyurethane and the natural biopolymer cytocompatibility. Morphological analysis showed a uniform integration of micrometric (Tecoflex) and nanometric (gelatin) fibers. Exposure of the composite meshes to vapors of aqueous glutaraldehyde solution was carried out, to stabilize the gelatin fibers in an aqueous environment. Uniaxial tensile testing in wet conditions demonstrated that the analyzed Tecoflex-Gelatin specimens possessed higher extensibility and lower elastic modulus than conventional synthetic grafts, providing a closer matching to native vessels. Biological evaluation highlighted that, as compared with meshes spun from Tecoflex alone, the electrospun composite constructs enhanced endothelial cells adhesion and proliferation, both in terms of cell number and morphology. Results suggest that composite Tecoflex-Gelatin meshes could be promising alternatives to conventional vascular grafts, deserving of further studies on both their mechanical behaviour and smooth muscle cell compatibility.