Advances and Challenges of Tissue Vascular Scaffolds and Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Technology in Cardiovascular Diseases.

BACKGROUND

Atherosclerosis often leads to ischemic heart disease and peripheral artery disease. Traditional revascularization technique such as bypass grafting using autologous vessels are commonly employed. However, limitations arise when patients lack suitable grafts due to underlying diseases or previous surgeries, prompting the need to substitute vessel grafts. Due to the high biocompatibility of decellularized products (grafts or scaffolds) prepared using supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO), it has been widely applied in decellularization-related technologies in recent years. Therefore, this review article will comprehensively discuss the current developments in tissue vascular scaffolds applied to the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, with a particular focus on the application of supercritical carbon dioxide technology in this field and the challenges it faces.

METHOD

This review was compiled by searching relevant references on PubMed database (before June 2024) based on selected key words and specific terms.

RESULTS

ScCO is an effective and eco-friendly extraction agent widely used in industries like food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. It has been applied in decellularization processes to obtain extracellular matrices (ECMs) from tissues. ScCO technology has emerged as a promising method in cardiovascular disease treatment, particularly for developing tissue vascular scaffolds. ScCO effectively removes cellular components while preserving the ECM, ensuring high biocompatibility and reduced immune response. It has been applied to decellularize tissues like heart valves and arteries, creating scaffolds that mimic natural ECM to support cell proliferation and tissue regeneration. Despite challenges such as solubility limitations and cost, ScCO offers advantages like low toxicity and ease of use, making it a valuable tool in advancing regenerative medicine for cardiovascular applications.

CONCLUSION

ScCO has the advantages of low cellular toxicity, cost-effectiveness, and ease of manipulation. These characteristics have the potential to lead to significant progress in cardiovascular research on tissue regeneration.