Creation of vessel-like patches enabled by poly(caprolactone)/collagen/elastin composite nanofibers

It is critical to fabricate ideal scaffolds for tissue engineered vascular graft. Nanofibers composted with collagen, elastin and polycaprolactone (PCL) were prepared by electrospinning. The obtained composite fibers had an average diameter around 300-500 nm. Mouse smooth muscles cells and endothelial cells cultured on these composite fibrous meshes showed enhanced cell attachment and accelerated cell proliferation. Three-dimesional cell-scaffolds construct were fabricated using layer-by-layer electrospinning technique. Taken together, the electrospun PCL fibers containing collagen, elastin and PCL show a great potential in vascular tissue engineering.