Fabrication and characterization of electrospun poly-L-lactide/gelatin graded tubular scaffolds: Toward a new design for performance enhancement in vascular tissue engineering

In this study, a new design of graded tubular scaffolds have been developed for the performance enhancement in vascular tissue engineering. The graded poly-L-lactide (PLLA) and gelatin fibrous scaffolds produced by electrospining were then characterized. The morphology, degradability, porosity, pore size and mechanical properties of four tubular scaffolds (graded PLLA/gelatin, layered PLLA/gelatin, PLLA and gelatin scaffolds) have been investigated. The tensile tests demonstrated that the mechanical strength and also the estimated burst pressure of the graded scaffolds were significantly increased in comparison with the layered and gelatin scaffolds. This new design, resulting in an increase in the mechanical properties, suggested the widespread use of these scaffolds in vascular tissue engineering in order to prepare more strengthened vessels.