Blood vessel, tissue engineering with polymers

Most of the commonly used degradable polymer scaffolds are mechanically strong, but for certain applications such as engineering muscles and tendons, which require considerable elasticity, these polymers are not optimal. Novel biodegradable polyesters have been developed with superior elasticity and strength that resemble vulcanized rubber and are hence termed as biorubber. Scaffolds made with these mechanically functional materials may be useful especially in engineering elastic tissue such as muscular-skeletal tissues and blood vessels. 

Niklason and Langer studied the feasibility of using PLGA and PGA for tissue-engineered, small diameter blood vessels. They reported that PLGA films supported confluent monolayers of aortic smooth muscle and endothelial cells, and PGA mesh scaffolds developed a tissue-like appearance when seeded with aortic smooth muscle cells. They also claimed that PGA scaffolds formed into a tube did not maintain sufficient strength required for blood vessels, even with smooth muscle tissue formed on the polymer. In an effort to improve the results, they applied pulsatile stretch forces to the cell-polymer... 

PU is a strong, hard-wearing, tear-resistant, flexible, oil-resistant, and blood-compatible polymer. The functional properties of natural macromolecules can be merged with those of synthetic polymers having controllable structures and properties for the production of polymer/protein hybrids. In tissue engineering, silk fibroin/PU blend film can be used as scaffold material for artificial blood vessels [466] (Figure 2.62). Bacterial synthesized cellulose, which was designed... 

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