The Decellularization and Crosslinking Efficacy of Perfusion Bioreactors in Small-Diameter Porcine Carotid Artery Grafts.

Background: Cardiovascular disease patients may find new hope in tissue engineering vascular grafts (TEVGs), which show promise as a substitute for small-diameter grafts in bypass surgery. Decellularized and crosslinked arteries are good TEVGs because they have native tissue structure, mechanical stability, reduced immunogenicity, and biocompatibility. Currently, procedures for decellularization and crosslinking related to bioreactors are emergent due to creating a stable flow, reducing both time and chemical concentration-factors affecting vascular structural degradation.

Methods: In the bioreactor system, the arteries were decellularized with low-concentration (0.3% or 0.5%) sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) before being crosslinked using N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) and N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). The samples were tested for mechanical properties, in vitro cytotoxicity, histological analysis, degradation, and subcutaneous embedding for about 3 months to see how well the crosslinking and decellularization process worked.

Results: A perfusion bioreactor along with 0.5% SDS shows the efficiency in removing cells from the arteries compared to 0.3% SDS. Using crosslinking with EDC and NHS by bioreactor also improved their mechanical properties, lowered inflammatory reactions, and sped up the time it took for them to break down.

Conclusion: The combination of SDS, EDC/NHS, and a bioreactor may serve as an appropriate method for arterial decellularization and crosslinking. This research indicates that crosslinked decellularized grafts by bioreactor systems are a promising scaffold materials for bypass surgery or vascular repair.