Martin Cristina, Sofla Aarash, Zhang Boyang, Nunes Sara S, Radisic Milica
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
Int J Artif Organs. 2013 Mar;36(3):159-65. doi: 10.5301/IJAO.5000179. Epub 2013 Feb 13.
A novel method for fabrication of branched, tubular, perfusable microvessels for use in vascular tissue engineering is reported. A tubular, elastomeric, biodegradable scaffold is first fabricated via a new, double fusible injection molding technique that uses a ternary alloy with a low melting temperature, Field's metal, and paraffin as sacrificial components. A cylindrical core metal of 500 μm or lower dia-meter with the target branching scaffold geometry is first constructed, then the metal structure is coated with paraffin and, finally, the metal-paraffin construct is embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The paraffin layer is then removed by heating and replaced by a biodegradable elastomeric pre-polymer that is subsequently UV-cured inside the PDMS. Next, the metal core is melted away and the PDMS is removed to attain the branched tubular elastomeric biodegradable scaffold. Finally, it is also demonstrated that human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were able to spread on the surface of the scaffold and form a confluent monolayer, confirming the potential of this new technique for making engineered blood vessels.
报道了一种用于血管组织工程的分支状、管状、可灌注微血管制造的新方法。首先通过一种新的双熔注塑技术制造管状、弹性、可生物降解的支架，该技术使用低熔点三元合金、菲尔德金属和石蜡作为牺牲成分。首先构建直径为500μm或更小的具有目标分支支架几何形状的圆柱形芯金属，然后用石蜡涂覆金属结构，最后将金属 - 石蜡构建体嵌入聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）中。然后通过加热去除石蜡层，并用可生物降解的弹性预聚物代替，随后该预聚物在PDMS内部进行紫外线固化。接下来，将金属芯熔化掉并去除PDMS以获得分支状管状弹性可生物降解支架。最后，还证明了人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVEC）能够在支架表面铺展并形成汇合单层，证实了这种制造工程血管的新技术的潜力。
