Polymeric cell-laden vascular graft for blood vessel mimicking in tissue engineering applications
The aim of the interdisciplinary STEMCEDIF project is to produce polymeric cell-laden vascular grafts by 3D printing for their usage as a biomimetic substrate for vascular engineering in applications after blood vessel disorders.

In order to produce scaffolds for tissue engineering, 3D printing technology is one of the most promising methods. However, the generation of biocompatible, stable and low-cost scaffolds material for tissue regeneration remains a big challenge. Naturally derived polymers, such as collagen type I and elastin, exhibit the unique biological properties of high biocompatibility, however poor structural stability and mechanical properties. On the other hand addition of synthetic polymers including PCL can significantly improve the stability and mechanical properties of scaffolds, making it very promising for producing scaffolds. The addition of growth factors and antibacterial agents could be another advantage for direct cell adhesion and differentiation and prevent bacterial infection. The scaffold will be composed of three layers filled with blood vessel cells, to mimic the structure and interactions of fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells (SMc) and endothelial cells (ECs) layer. The final part of the studies employ induced pluripotent stem cells isolated from somatic cells of healthy donors, differentiated into SMc and ECs will be incorporated in the specific arrangement within the polymer architecture to formulate the several layers of 3D scaffolds to mimic saphenous vein.

The obtained results will allow to get one step forward to learn about designing biocompatible scaffolds for increase regeneration and tissue integration after aneurysms or aortic dissections in vessel disorders such as rare diseases. Due to the precision which should be preserved while mimicking the ECM of blood vessels and simultaneously incorporating cells within the structure, the unique 3D printing method involving direct cell printing will be used in the project.