In the active field of vascular graft research, in situ vascular tissue engineering is a novel concept. This approach aims to use biodegradable synthetic materials. After implantation, the synthetic material progressively degrades and should be replaced by autologous cells. Poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) is often used for vascular graft because of its good mechanical strength and its biocompatibility. It is easily processed into micro and nano-fibers by electrospinning to form a porous, cell-friendly scaffold. However, the degradation time of polycaprolactone is too long to match the tissue regeneration time. In this study, poly (ε-caprolactone) /poly (trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) blend scaffold materials have been prepared for biodegradable vascular graft using an electrospinning process. Because the degradation time of PTMC is shorter than PCL in vivo. The morphological characters of PCL/PTMC blend scaffold materials were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The molecular components and some physical characteristics of the blend scaffold materials were tested by FT-IR and DSC analysis.
In situ tissue regeneration using a novel tissue-engineered, small-caliber vascular graft without cell seeding
