Page 540 - IJB-10-3

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Engineered 3D-printed poly(vinyl alcohol)

vascular grafts: Impact of thermal treatment
and functionalization

Ionut-Cristian Radu 1 id , Derniza Cozorici 1 id , Madalina-Ioana Necolau 1 id ,
Roxana Cristina Popescu 2,3 id , Eugenia Tanasa 1 id , Laurentia Alexandrescu 4 id ,
Catalin Zaharia * , and Rafael Luque 5 id
1 id
1 Advanced Polymer Materials Group, Department of Bioresources and Polymer Science, Faculty
of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National University of Science and Technology
POLITEHNICA Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
2 Department of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Medical Engineering, National
University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
3 Group of Biophysics and Radiobiology, Department of Life and Environmental Physics, National
Institute for R&D in Physics and Nuclear Engineering “Horia Hulubei,” Magurele, Romania
4 Rubber Research Department, National Research and Development Institute for Textile
and Leather, Division Leather and Footwear Research Institute (INCDTP Division ICPI),
Bucharest, Romania
5 Universidad ECOTEC, Km. 13.5 Samborondón, Samborondón, Ecuador
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Biomimetic and bioinspired printed structures)

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases, a leading cause of global mortality, are driving increased
*Corresponding author: demand for artificial blood vessels for surgical repair. This study discloses the
Catalin Zaharia fabrication of three-dimensional (3D)-printed small blood vessels as tissue-
(catalin.zaharia@upb.ro)
engineered grafts. Large-diameter artery and vein grafts are readily available in
Citation: Radu IC, Cozorici D, the market, but small-diameter blood vessels face issues due to the lack of suitable
Necolau MI, et al. Engineered
3D-printed poly(vinyl alcohol) materials. Lysine-biofunctionalized and unmodified poly(vinyl alcohol) grafts (PVA
vascular grafts: Impact of thermal grafts) (2 mm inner diameter and 3 mm outer diameter) suitable for veins and venules
treatment and functionalization. were designed using Fusion 360 software, Autodesk Fusion. The PVA channels were
Int J Bioprint. 2024;10(3):2193.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.2193 fabricated from the 3D virtual model through fused deposition modeling using a PVA
filament. These channels underwent thermal treatment to adjust their crystallinity,
Received: November 6, 2023 chemical crosslinking, and functionalization to optimize their mechanical properties
Accepted: March 31, 2024
Published Online: June 10, 2024 and biocompatibility. Crosslinking and biofunctionalization were assessed using
Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance, while
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry were utilized for structural
distributed under the terms of the analysis. PVA grafts were biologically tested using three specific types of cell cultures:
Creative Commons Attribution bEnd.3 brain endothelial cells, L929 fibroblast cells, and U937 monocyte-like cells.
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, The hemocompatibility of the optimized vascular grafts was evaluated using horse
provided the original work is blood, following the guidelines outlined in ASTM F756-13 Standard Practice for
properly cited. Assessment of Hemolytic Properties of Materials. The direct method for hemoglobin
Publisher’s Note: AccScience determination was specifically employed. Additionally, we developed an external
Publishing remains neutral with polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) 3D-printed platform to house the PVA
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional grafts in parallel. The assembled platform (PETG and PVA graft) was connected to
affiliations. both an inlet and an outlet to facilitate the passage of an aqueous flow through the

Volume 10 Issue3 (2024) 532 doi: 10.36922/ijb.2193