Polysaccharide-based tissue-engineered vascular patches

Author(s)

Bombaldi de Souza, Fernanda Carla ^[1] ; Bombaldi de Souza, Renata Francielle ^[1] ; Drouin, Bernard ^[2] ; Popat, Ketul C. ^[3] ; Mantovani, Diego ^[2] ; Moraes, Angela Maria ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Dept Engn Mat & Bioproc, Sch Chem Engn, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Laval Univ, Lab Biomat & Bioengn, Canada Res Chair Biomat & Bioengn Innovat Surg 1, Dept Min Met Mat Engn, Res Ctr CHU Quebec, Div Rege, Quebec City, PQ - Canada

^[3] Colorado State Univ, Dept Mech Engn, Sch Biomed Engn, Ft Collins, CO 80523 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Materials Science & Engineering C-Materials for Biological Applications; v. 104, NOV 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Coronary artery and peripheral vascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and often require surgical intervention to replace damaged blood vessels, including the use of vascular patches in endarterectomy procedures. Tissue engineering approaches can be used to obtain biocompatible and biodegradable materials directed to this application. In this work, dense or porous scaffolds constituted of chitosan (Ch) complexed with alginate (A) or pectin (P) were fabricated and characterized considering their application as tissue-engineered vascular patches. Scaffolds fabricated with alginate presented higher culture medium uptake capacity (up to 17 g/g) than materials produced with pectin. A degradation study of the patches in the presence of lysozyme showed longer-term stability for Ch-P-based scaffolds. Pectin-containing matrices presented higher elastic modulus (around 280 kPa) and ability to withstand larger deformations. Moreover, these materials demonstrated better performance when tested for hemocompatibility, with lower levels of platelet adhesion and activation. Human smooth muscle cells (HSMC) adhered, spread and proliferated better on matrices produced with pectin, probably as a consequence of cell response to higher stiffness of this material. Thus, the outcomes of this study demonstrate that Ch-P-based scaffolds present superior characteristics for the application as vascular patches. Despite polysaccharides are yet underrated in this field, this work shows that biocompatible tridimensional structures based on these polymers present high potential to be applied for the reconstruction and regeneration of vascular tissues. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/26534-1 - Chitosan-based tissue engineered vascular grafts
• Grantee: Fernanda Carla Bombaldi de Souza
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 17/01858-0 - Chitosan-based scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering: mechanical characterization and cell culture on tubular matrices
• Grantee: Fernanda Carla Bombaldi de Souza
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate