Prostheses Vascular Elastomeric

By copolymerizing the monomers of two highly crystalline homopolymers it is possible to create a series of less crystalline copolymers with reduced levels of stiffness, elastic modulus and crystallinity depending on the blend level of the two monomers. This has been demonstrated by Soo H5nm Kim and coworkers at KIST, who have been able to synthesize a series of elastomeric (or rubbery) resorbable poly(L-lactide-co-e-caprolactone) copolymers. Because of their superior elastic behavior they have been used to prepare tubular scaffolds for vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) culture under dynamic pulsatile conditions. We have melt spun and electrospun the 50/50 copolymer to fabricate a two-layer small-caliber vascular prosthesis prototype with radial elongation at break in excess of 300% (Fig. 15.33). " ... 

Annis D, Bomat A, Edwards RO, Higham A, Loveday B, Wilson J. An elastomeric vascular prosthesis. Trans Am Soc Artif Intern Organs 1978 24 209-14. 

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