Electrospun Fibrous Scaffolds for Small-Diameter Blood Vessels: A Review

Abstract

Small-diameter blood vessels (SDBVs) are still a challenging task to prepare due to the occurrence of thrombosis formation, intimal hyperplasia, and aneurysmal dilation. Electrospinning technique, as a promising tissue engineering approach, can fabricate polymer fibrous scaffolds that satisfy requirements on the construction of extracellular matrix (ECM) of native blood vessel and promote the adhesion, proliferation, and growth of cells. In this review, we summarize the polymers that are deployed for the fabrication of SDBVs and classify them into three categories, synthetic polymers, natural polymers, and hybrid polymers. Furthermore, the biomechanical properties and the biological activities of the electrospun SBVs including anti-thrombogenic ability and cell response are discussed. Polymer blends seem to be a strategic way to fabricate SDBVs because it combines both suitable biomechanical properties coming from synthetic polymers and favorable sites to cell attachment coming from natural polymers.

Fabrication Techniques for Vascular and Vascularized Tissue Engineering

“…Electrospinning is a technique used to produce nano‐ and microscale polymer fibers through the application of an electric current to a polymer solution . The device setup normally consists of a polymer‐containing syringe, placed in a syringe pump that controls flow rate, a syringe needle, a metal collector for the fibers to accumulate on, and high voltage power supplies to generate an electric field.…”

“…Over the last two decades, a variety of fabrication techniques have been explored to fabricate tissue‐engineered vasculatures. Traditional approaches for generating tissue‐engineered vascular grafts include electrospinning, molding, sheet rolling, and decellularization . Many grafts fabricated through these techniques are currently being assessed in large animal in vivo studies and clinical trials, and the results are reviewed elsewhere .…”

Matching Static and Dynamic Compliance of Small‐Diameter Arteries, with Poly(lactide‐co‐caprolactone) Copolymers: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

“…Poly‐ε‐caprolactone‐based polymers are frequently investigated as the material to fabricate small‐diameter vascular prostheses due to their biocompatibility and material properties 5,7,8,21,25,26. PLC 0:100 and its co‐polymers have been described as the polymers of potential for the 21st century, in regards to medical applications, which includes synthetic vascular prostheses 27.…”

“…The common fabrication technique used for vascular prostheses is electrospinning due to its uncomplicated mechanism and the generation of a fibrous structure of the scaffolds that resemble the extracellular matrix 5,7,8,21,25,26,37. In this study, we used an alternative method, dip‐coating, to fabricate conduit tubes from different PLC monomer ratios to test their suitability to act as a vascular prosthesis.…”

Biomaterial‐Induction of a Transplantable Angiosome

“…The observation that porous materials can be invaded by microvessel capillary ingrowth is well documented. Capillary infiltration into pores as small as 1 µm is reported to be material independent, with explanatory hypotheses based mainly on inflammation and hypoxia‐driven reaction of macrophages . Macrophages have been observed to migrate down oxygen concentration gradients releasing various growth factors (e.g., VEGF, IL‐8, FGF1, and FGF2) that can promote capillary invasion .…”