Hierarchically Designed Electrospun Tubular Scaffolds for Cardiovascular Applications

Hierarchically designed tubular scaffolds with bi-layer and multi-layer structures are expected to mimic native vessels in its structural geometry. A new approach for the fabrication of hierarchically designed tubular scaffold with suitable morphology was introduced through electrospinning technique. Among these scaffolds, bi-layer scaffold had a single inner and outer layer whereas multi-layer scaffold had more number of inner layers. The inner layer/layers of the scaffolds were made up of aligned poly (lactic acid) (PLA) fibers for EC adhesion where as outer layers were composed of random fibers of poly (caprolactone) (PCL) and PLA providing larger pores for SMC penetration. The fabricated scaffolds were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and examined by evaluating cellular interactions. Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) seeded on aligned PLA fibers showed enhanced cellular orientation and cytoskeletal organization. In addition, the PCL PLA composite random fibers supported SMC adhesion and proliferation sufficiently. The functionality of the endothelial cells grown on the PLA-aligned scaffold was also found to be satisfactory. Lining the constructs with a luminal monolayer of well-organized ECs along with homogenously distributed SMCs surrounding them might result in vascular conduits suitable for in vivo applications. Since this hierarchically designed tubular scaffold closely mimics the morphology of native vessel, this could be a better candidate for vascular tissue engineering.