Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Owing to the mechanical, biological, and biodegradable properties of the e-BC gel, it could
potentially be used to engineer blood vessels
in vivo
. Synthetic materials such as
polyethylene terephthalate (Dacron) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) have
been clinically applied as vascular grafts for a long time to replace or bypass large-diameter
blood vessels. However, when used in small-diameter blood vessels (inner diameter < 6
mm), the patency rates are poor compared to autologous vein grafts. These failures are due
to early thrombosis and gradual neointimal hyperplasia, and the pathological changes
occurred due to the lack of blood or mechanical compatibility of the synthetic grafts [42]. To
address this problem, tissue engineering approach is promising. A variety of biodegradable
polymers and scaffolds have been evaluated to develop a tissue-engineered vascular graft
[43-46]. These approaches depend on either the
in vitro
or
in vivo
cellular remodeling of a
polymeric scaffold. For successful
in vivo
cellular remodeling, the biocompatibility,
biodegradability, and mechanical properties of the scaffold must be suitable to the dynamic
environment of the blood vessel. Therefore, the ideal scaffold should employ a
biocompatible and biodegradable polymer with elastic properties that interact favorably
with cells and blood. Therefore, the interaction of the e-BC gel with rat whole blood and
plasma was investigated to assess their blood compatibility for use in vascular-tissue
engineering.
Fig. 11. Platelet adhesion rates on the e-BC gel, e-SC gel, and the control samples. Values are
mean ± SD (n=4).
After incubation of the e-BC gel with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) collected from rat blood, the
colored
p
-nitrophenol produced by the acid-phosphatase reaction of the platelets was
measured with a microplate reader at an absorbance of 405 nm. The percentage of adherent
