Vascularization: plant decellularization and electrospinning techniques for the development of small and medium caliber blood vessels

• Autor(a) principal: Coelho, Lígia Regina Tomás
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/57610
• topic: Tissue engineering; ECM; 3T3; endothelial cells; PCL; PEO; Domínio/Área Científica::Engenharia e Tecnologia::Engenharia Química

Vascularization in complex human tissues remains a challenge in the eld of tissue engineering. A functional vascular network, capable of providing oxygen and nutrients and the removal of metabolites, is mandatory for the regeneration of large organs. Recent research on whole organ decellularization has showcased advantages regarding biocompatibility and structural integrity on the resulting extracellular matrix. In this work, we explored the possibilities of two di erent sca old building techniques, plant decellularization and bre electrospinning, as natural and synthetic alternatives for the issue of vascularization. Tetragonia tetragonioides (Pallas) Kuntze, Spinacia oleracea L. and Phaseolus vulgaris L. leaves were successfully decellularized, with a nucleic acid reduction of 89 11 %, 99.0 1.0 % and 99.6 0.4 % respectively. The structural integrity was highest for T. tetragoniodes. Re-seeding of the leaves with 3T3 broblasts and endothelial cells by conventional seeding and a perfusion re-cellularization for S. oleracea with 3T3 cells were also achieved. In parallel, we were able to produce polycaprolactone sca olds interleaved with open channels and evaluate their cellular adhesion and proliferation. A three channel sca old alongside thick polycaprolactone layers provided the best results. The sca olds studied in this work may provide e ective re-vascularization strategies upon incorporation in large-scale sca olds for organ regeneration.