Advisory Committee Chair
Yogesh L Vohra
Advisory Committee Members
Susan L Bellis
Derrick R Dean
Alan W Eberhardt
Vinoy Thomas
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2010
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School of Engineering
Abstract
A bi-layer electrospun nano-fibrous scaffold comprising synthetic polymers and natural proteins was constructed as the prototype of an arterial substitute for coronary ar-tery disease. This scaffold featured a highly porous microstructure analogous to native extracellular matrix. Uni-axial tensile test suggested that its excellent mechanical strength could restore normal blood flow immediately after implantation. Subsequent biocompati-bility study demonstrated that scaffolding materials, either traditional or degraded, were non-toxic to the regenerated human endothelium on the luminal layer. Moreover, this re-generated endothelium possessed critical functions, such as the formation of tight junc-tions, the secretion of prostacyclin, and the prevention of platelet adhesion. Thereafter, porcine endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) harvested from the peripheral blood were used to explore the in situ regeneration of a functional endothelium. The EPCs constructed within 24 hours a confluent endothelial layer that was capable of preventing platelet adhesion, suggesting that this scaffold would provide a favorable milieu in vivo for the arterial regeneration.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Xing, "Cardiovascular endothelial regeneration on an electrospun scaffold" (2010). All ETDs from UAB. 3439.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/3439