Heart valve scaffold fabrication: Bioinspired control of macro-scale morphology, mechanics and micro-structure.

ABSTRACT: Valvular heart disease is currently treated with mechanical valves, which benefit from longevity, but are burdened by chronic anticoagulation therapy, or with bioprosthetic valves, which have reduced thromboembolic risk, but limited durability. Tissue engineered heart valves have been proposed to resolve these issues by implanting a scaffold that is replaced by endogenous growth, leaving autologous, functional leaflets that would putatively eliminate the need for anticoagulation and avoid calcification. Despite the diversity in fabrication strategies and encouraging results in large animal models, control over engineered valve structure-function remains at best partial. This study aimed to overcome these limitations by introducing double component deposition (DCD), an electrodeposition tec

SUBMITTER: D'Amore A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5988585 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature