Biohybrid microvascular interponates with integrated elastin-like recombinamers – validation of stability and biomimetic elasticity in human vessels

Scientific Reports, vol. 15, pp. 44632

Abstract

Autologous vein grafts remain the gold standard for microvascular interpositions in reconstructive maxillofacial surgery, despite their high failure rates and the additional operation site. Against this background, this ex vivo study investigates a novel biohybrid microvascular graft based on elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs). The biohybrid graft design consists of ELRs combined with the mechanical support of textile components. The compliance and pressure resistance of the developed grafts were evaluated and compared with human fresh cadaver vessels (radial artery). The ELRs biohybrid grafts were microsurgically anastomosed with human radial arteries, and were compared with human vein interposition grafts from the saphena vein. The ELRs grafts exhibited comparable and favorable compliance to real human vessels. The burst pressure values of 543 ± 71 mmHg of the ELRs grafts were above the physiological blood pressure load. The tensile strength of the interponated ELRs grafts were significantly higher at 4.2 ± 1.15 N (p = 0.025) compared to interponated venous grafts with tensile strength of 3.20 ± 0.65 N. The ex vivo investigations of the novel ELRs biohybrid microvascular grafts revealed promising properties for the application as microvascular interposition graft in terms of compliance, pressure resistance, and tensile strength compared to the current gold standard.

Authors 10

1. Marius Heitzer corresponding Aachen Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany. mheitzer@ukaachen.de

2. Dominic Pascal Andre Aachen Department of Biohybrid and Medical Textiles (BioTex) AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Biohybrid & Medical Textiles (BioTex), AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstrasse 55, 52074, Aachen, Germany

3. Philipp Winnand Aachen Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

4. Mark Ooms Aachen Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

5. Nils Vohl Aachen Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

6. José Carlos Rodríguez‐Cabello

   Universidad de Valladolid · Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine

   Affiliation as printed

   BIOFORGE Lab, University of Valladolid, CIBER-BBN, Paseo de Belén 19, LaDIS, Valladolid, 47011, Spain

7. Stefan Jockenhoevel Aachen Department of Biohybrid and Medical Textiles (BioTex) AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Biohybrid & Medical Textiles (BioTex), AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstrasse 55, 52074, Aachen, Germany

8. Frank Hölzle Aachen Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

9. Ali Modabber Aachen Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

10. Alicia Fernández‐Colino corresponding Aachen Department of Biohybrid and Medical Textiles (BioTex) AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Biohybrid & Medical Textiles (BioTex), AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstrasse 55, 52074, Aachen, Germany. fernandez@ame.rwth-aachen.de