Human-like collagen/hyaluronic acid 3D scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering

Following the previous work of media layer and adventitia layer construction for vascular scaffold, we developed a suitable intima layer scaffold for endothelialization using novel human-like collagen/hyaluronic acid composite at different mass ratios of 40/1, 20/1 and 10/1 (HLC to HA) by freeze-drying process. The structure, mechanical strength, degradation and biocompatibility of the vascular HLC/HA scaffold were evaluated. The results showed that the 10/1 HLC/HA composited an optimal scaffold with (1) an interconnected porous network with a pore diameter of 12 ± 2 μm and porosity of 89.3%, (2) better mechanical properties with higher stress of 321.7 ± 15 kPa and strain of 45.5 ± 0.2% than 40/1, 20/1 and pure HLC scaffolds, (3) only 9% degradation upon immersion in PBS for 45 days at 37 °C in vitro, and (4) excellent biocompatibility. This study suggests that the 10/1 HLC/HA composite has a broad prospect of application as luminal vascular scaffold in the tissue engineering.