Fabricating mechanically improved silk-based vascular grafts by solution control of the gel-spinning process.

ABSTRACT: There is a large unmet need for off-the-shelf biomaterial options to supplant venous autografts in bypass and reconstructive surgical procedures. Existing graft alternatives formed from non-degradable synthetic polymers are not capable of maintaining long-term patency and are thus not indicated for <6 mm inner diameter bypass procedures. To fill this void, degradable silk-based biomaterials have been proposed that can maintain their mechanical properties (i.e. compliance) while facilitating slow but progressive biomaterial remodeling and host integration mediated by cellular colonization. The goal of the present study was to enhance the porosity of gel-spun silk tubes, to facilitate faster degradation rates and improve cellularity, and thus improve host integration over time in vivo, while

SUBMITTER: Rodriguez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6942127 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature