Biostable highly aligned polyurethane fibres for the potential application of small calibre vascular grafting

Chin Joo Tan (1) , Ang Bee Chin (1) , Andri Andriyana (1) , Grégory Chagnon (2)

1 UM - University of Malaya = Universiti Malaya [Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie]
2 TIMC-BIOMÉCA - Biomécanique des Tissus Vivants et des Matériaux – Modélisation et Caractérisation

Synthetic vascular grafting is necessarily when the autografting is not possible in some cases. Conventional polyethylene terephthalate and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts are found to be effective for diameter bigger than 6 mm but not for the diameter smaller than 4 mm due to the compliance mismatch and thrombogenicity. Endothelization on the surface of the graft can reduce the risks of compliance mismatch and thrombogenicity. In order to catalyst the endothelization process, fibrous morph ology similar to the extracellular matrix of our body is preferable in the vascular grafts. Apart from that, the biostability of the grafts is also an essential element to be considered as the biodegradation may reduce the efficiency of the grafts. Many po lyurethanes have been recognised as biostable materials. Hence, in this study, highly aligned polyurethane fibres are fabricated using a facile dry spinning technique in the view of providing effective sites for endothelization process to occur. These fibr es are immersed into the simulated body fluid for as long as 24 weeks before conducting the biostability characterisations. The biostability is assessed in three aspects, physical, mechanical and chemical properties. Results show that the fibres do not hav significant deteriorations in all the three aspects mentioned.

Mots clés: Polyurethane; fibres; biostable; vascular; grafts

Domaines: Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]; Biomatériaux

Chin Joo Tan, Ang Bee Chin, Andri Andriyana, Grégory Chagnon. Biostable highly aligned polyurethane fibres for the potential application of small calibre vascular grafting. Materials Science and Engineering Technology / Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik, 2020, 51 (11), pp.1473-1480. ⟨10.1002/mawe.202000053⟩. ⟨hal-03850125⟩