Evaluation of Electrostatically Endothelial Cell Seeded Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Grafts in a Canine Femoral Artery Model

(1) Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent (luminal coverage) of the endothelial cell (EC) lining/neointimal development and the thromboresistance of electrostatically EC seeded small diameter e-PTFE vascular grafts. (2) Methods: This evaluation consisted of harvesting autologous, canine jugular vein ECs, electrostatically EC seeding the e-PTFE grafts (4 mm GORE-TEX,® Length = 6 cm), implanting the grafts in a canine femoral artery model for six weeks, and excising the graft for histological and scanning electron microscopy evaluations. (3) Results: The results of the histological evaluation (mid-graft region only) indicated that the electrostatic EC seeding significantly affected neointimal development (p