Characterization and preparation of bio-tubular scaffolds for fabricating artificial vascular grafts by combining electrospinning and a 3D printing system

Abstract

The last decade has seen artificial blood vessels composed of natural polymer nanofibers grafted into human bodies to facilitate the recovery of damaged blood vessels. However, electrospun nanofibers (ENs) of biocompatible materials such as chitosan (CTS) suffer from poor mechanical properties. This study describes the design and fabrication of artificial blood vessels composed of a blend of CTS and PCL ENs and coated with PCL strands using rapid prototyping technology. The resulting tubular vessels exhibited excellent mechanical properties and showed that this process may be useful for vascular reconstruction.