Bioengineers develop hybrid transplants to fight cardiovascular disease

Researchers from AMBER and Trinity, led by Dr David Hoey, have successfully replicated the behaviour of a blood vessel and its guiding structure to regenerate damaged tissue.

The researchers, who published their work in the journal Advanced functional materialsused a fusion electrowriting (MEW) technique to provide an innovative, off-the-shelf alternative to address the unmet clinical need for small-diameter vascular grafts to help combat cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of morbidity. Current treatments include vascular substitution using autologous/synthetic vascular grafts, but these typically fail in small diameter applications, largely due to conformity mismatch and clot formation.

In this research, a multicomponent vascular graft, inspired by native vascular architecture, was developed to overcome these limitations. Hot electrowriting (MEW) is used to produce tubular scaffolds with vascular-mimetic fiber architecture and mechanics, which are combined with a lyophilized fibrinogen matrix with tailored degradation kinetics to generate a hybrid graft.

Lead researcher and study author, Associate Professor David Hoey, said: “We have developed a novel multi-component vascular graft inspired by the layered architecture of native blood vessels.

“Using advanced biofabrication technologies such as fused electrowriting (MEW), we could produce tubular scaffolds that, when combined with a fibrinogen matrix, could not only replicate the behavior of a blood vessel, but could also act as a guiding structure to regenerate damaged tissue.

“This promising, ready-to-use graft meets clinical requirements and therefore represents a promising solution to address the unmet need for small-diameter vascular grafts.”

The graft meets ISO implantability requirements, matches native vessel conformity, and restores physiological flow with minimal clot formation in a preclinical model.

3D bioprinting has emerged as a promising technology for engineering “living” biological tissues in 3D to promote bone and tissue regeneration.

The overall goal of TRANSITION, led by AMBER’s Professor Daniel Kelly, is to develop a new class of 3D-printed biological implants that will regenerate, rather than replace, diseased joints.