New polymer key for artificial blood vessels

By using a specially created polymer, scientists have developed fully functioning artificial blood vessels.

The research team, from the Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry at the Vienna University of Technology, used a biodegradable polymer to create artificial blood vessels that over time get replaced by natural ones.

Dr Robert Liska at the Vienna University of Technology said: “By selecting very specific molecular building blocks we have succeeded in synthesising a polymer with the desired properties.”

To create these artificial blood vessels, the team spun polymer solutions in an electrical field to form very fine threads which were arranged to simulate natural blood vessel walls. Then they used mass spectrometry to observe the interaction between the material – thermoplastic polyurethane – and blood cells in rats. The scientists found that the slightly porous nature of the polymer fabric allowed migration and colonisation of natural cells.

After six months, the team examined the inserted artificial blood vessels and discovered that the material showed no evidence of blood related problems. At the end of the process the artificial vessels turned into natural body tissue.

Professor Helga Bergmeister of the Medical University of Vienna said: “We did not find any aneurysms, thromboses or inflammation. Endogenous cells had colonised the vascular prostheses and turned the artificial constructs into natural body tissue.”

Next, the team will make further adaptations to the material and continue the preclinical trials. They hope the material will prove useful for blood vessel replacement procedures in humans in the future.