Study of nanofibrous morphology of small-diameter vascular grafts

F. MONTINI BALLARIN; P.M. FRONTINI; G.A. ABRAHAM

Mar del Plata

Taller; 2º Workshop on Artificial Organs, Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering; 2011

Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata - INTEMA (UNMdP-CONICET) - SLABO

Small diameter vascular grafts for cardiovascular applications are still a challenge. The existing grafts present limitations in supply, dimensions (autografts), immunogenic response (allografts and xenografts), thrombosis, stenosis and occlusion (synthetic grafts). Tissue engineering small-diameter vascular grafts are interesting candidates for these applications. In this work, we report the development of poly(L-lactic acid) small-diameter vascular grafts obtained by electrospinning technique. The setup used consisted of a grounded rotocollector small-diameter mandrel, a flow pump, a high voltage power supply and a blunt metal needle. The processing conditions were optimized in order to produce uniform bead-free nanofibrous morphology. In a first approach, random electrospun nanofibrous flat membranes were obtained and a study of the electrospinning parameters influence in the nanofiber diameter was made. Once these conditions were fixed tubular scaffolds were made and the influence of the rotation speed in the nanofiber alignment and morphology was studied. Scanning electron micrographs were processed to obtain the mean diameter, diameter histogram, mean angle of alignment, and angle histogram. Thermal properties of raw and electrospun materials were also analyzed.