Shapeable large-pore electrospun polycaprolactam cotton facilitates the rapid formation of a functional tissue engineered vascular graft

Abstract

Tissue engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) with diameters <6 mm have broad applications. However, maintaining graft post-implantation patency and function is still difficult to achieve and of urgent necessity. In this study, we use an effective strategy to make the large-pore electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) cotton material (Cotton) and utilized immunoreactive pre-cultivation to prepare a small diameter autologous TEVG. The material assessment via scanning electron microscopy revealed that Cotton has favorable characteristics that make it suitable for immunoreactive pre-cultivation. It also possesses great mechanical properties. Due to strong reshape ability of Cotton, designed vascular patch and vascular scaffold and others could be obtained. For vascular scaffold, Cotton was wrapped around a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube and implanted subcutaneously in rats for up to 2 weeks to prepare autologous TEVGs. Autologous TEVGs were then transplanted into the abdominal aorta of the same rat. Cotton TEVG formed functional graft with favorable patency after transplantation for 4 weeks. Histological results showed that the TEVGs had characteristics similar to that of the native aorta. Our results indicate PCL cotton material could be a kind of shapeable material and used to create a promising biocompatible and functional vascular graft over a relatively short period of time.