Abstract
Developing functional small-diameter vascular grafts is an important objective in tissue engineering research. In this study, we address the problem of compliance mismatch by designing and developing a 3D tubular construct that has a negative Poisson's ratio vxy (NPR). NPR constructs have the unique ability to expand transversely when pulled axially, thereby resulting in a highly-compliant tubular construct. In this work, we used projection stereolithography to 3D-print a planar NPR sheet composed of photosensitive poly(ethylene) glycol diacrylate biomaterial. We used a step-lithography exposure and a stitch process to scale up the projection printing process, and used the cut-missing rib unit design to develop a centimeter-scale NPR sheet, which was rolled up to form a tubular construct. The constructs had Poisson's ratios of -0.6 ≤ vxy ≤ -0.1. The NPR construct also supports higher cellular adhesion than does the construct that has positive vxy. Our NPR design offers a significant advance in the development of highly-compliant vascular grafts.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e0155681 |
Journal | PloS one |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2016 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General