Poly(glyceryl sebacate)/silk fibroin small-diameter artificial blood vessels with good elasticity and compliance

Small-diameter artificial blood vessels do not match the compliance of the host blood vessels after transplantation, will directly affect the blood compatibility of small-diameter artificial blood vessels and resulting in problems such as thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia that can lead to transplantation failure. Since the compliance of small-diameter artificial blood vessels is directly related to the elasticity of the component materials, the poly(glyceryl sebacate) (PGS), a type of bioelastomer, and silk fibroin (SF) were blended to fabricate small-diameter artificial blood vessels by electrospinning. The morphology, structure, elasticity, tensile properties, suture retention strength, compliance, and in vitro degradation and biological properties of the samples were studied. Results showed that the small-diameter artificial blood vessel samples were composed of micro-fibers or nano-fibers, and had satisfactory compliance and elasticity. The compliance of the PGS/SF (70/30) samples was 3.58 %/100 ​mmHg, which were higher than or comparable to natural blood vessels. The results of radial cyclic tensile tests showed that the energy loss per cycle of PGS/SF tubular samples was very low. Adding PGS accelerated the degradation rate of small-diameter artificial blood vessel samples, and PGS/SF electrospun small-diameter artificial blood vessel samples promoted the adhesion and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The samples’ anticoagulant performance were also increased after adding heparin. PGS/SF blends have potential advantages in the preparation of small-diameter artificial blood vessels that can meet the requirements of elasticity and compliance. [Display omitted] •An electrospun PGS/SF small-diameter artificial blood vessel showed promising elasticity and compliance.•The degradation rate of PGS/SF small-diameter artificial blood vessels slowed down with the increase of SF content.•The tubular samples are of great value for the subsequent application of small diameter artificial blood vessels.