| Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the western world, creating need for treatment methods. The most common treatment of bypass grafting with native vessels is not always feasible due to lack of sufficient and healthy tissue. Currently marketed synthetic devices are successful in the replacement of large diameter vessels, but fail when used in small diameter grafting. Research described in this thesis has explored tissue engineered solutions to produce a device that behaves similarly to native vessels. A silk-based graft is being developed with design considerations addressing previous graft failures. The design consists of an electrospun silk tube seeded with cells, focusing on biocompatibility, thrombosis resistance, and mechanical properties matching native vessels. Initial testing demonstrated silk scaffolds possess burst strength sufficient to withstand arterial pressures, and tensile properties similar to native vessels. Future testing of the cell cultured scaffold is necessary to determine feasibility of grafting. |
