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Kink-free electrospun PET/PU-based vascular grafts with 3D-printed additive manufacturing reinforcement

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  • Focus Issue: 3D Printing of Biomedical Materials and Devices
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Abstract

In this study, we present the fabrication and characterization of the kink-free electrospun small caliber (4 mm in internal diameter) vascular graft based on a blend of biocompatible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and highly elastomeric polyurethane (PU) and subsequently reinforced by additive manufacturing 3D printing. We also report the design and simulation of the grafts under various internal pressures. Long-length small-diameter grafts suffer from the kink and loop formation for electrospun tubes. We have seen that collector rotation speeds (from 50 to 200 rpm) yielded grafts with varied mechanical properties and kink resistance. By reinforcing electrospun vascular grafts with the help of 3D printing, we report the reduction of the kink radius from 2.30 to 0.45 cm and 0.57 cm, respectively, for poly(lactic acid) (PLA)- and PET-reinforced vascular graft.

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Acknowledgments

Funding support was provided by Alabama EPSCoR GRSP round 14 and 15 Fellowship (KA) and NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 OIA 1655280 (VT), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-Alabama Space Grant Consortium, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) award (JZ) is acknowledged. Thanks to Mr. Jerry Sewell from Dept. of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham for assistance in the modification of the mechanical testing system. We greatly appreciate the elastomeric PU materials gifted by AorTech International Inc (Australia) for the studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Kiran R. Adhikari

  2. Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB), University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, USA

    Kiran R. Adhikari & Vinoy Thomas

  3. Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA

    Jordan Zimmerman

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Pravin S. Dimble, Bernabe S. Tucker & Vinoy Thomas

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  1. Kiran R. Adhikari
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Adhikari, K.R., Zimmerman, J., Dimble, P.S. et al. Kink-free electrospun PET/PU-based vascular grafts with 3D-printed additive manufacturing reinforcement. Journal of Materials Research 36, 4013–4023 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-021-00291-6

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