TY - JOUR A1 - Hoenicka, Markus A1 - Kaspar, Marcel A1 - Schmid, Christof A1 - Liebold, Andreas A1 - Schrammel, Siegfried T1 - Contact-free monitoring of vessel graft stiffness - proof of concept as a tool for vascular tissue engineering JF - Journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine N2 - Tissue-engineered vessel grafts have to mimic the biomechanical properties of native blood vessels. Manufacturing processes often condition grafts to adapt them to the target flow conditions. Graft stiffness is influenced by material properties and dimensions and determines graft compliance. This proof-of-concept study evaluated a contact-free method to monitor biomechanical properties without compromising sterility. Forced vibration response analysis was performed on human umbilical vein (HUV) segments mounted in a buffer-filled tubing system. A linear motor and a dynamic signal analyser were used to excite the fluid by white noise (0-200 Hz). Vein responses were read out by laser triangulation and analysed by fast Fourier transformation. Modal analysis was performed by monitoring multiple positions of the vessel surface. As an inverse model of graft stiffening during conditioning, HUV were digested proteolytically, and the course of natural frequencies (NFs) was monitored over 120 min. Human umbilical vein showed up to five modes with NFs in the range of 5-100 Hz. The first natural frequencies of HUV did not alter over time while incubated in buffer (p = 0.555), whereas both collagenase (-35%, p = 0.0061) and elastase (-45%, p < 0.001) treatments caused significant decreases of NF within 120 min. Decellularized HUV showed similar results, indicating that changes of the extracellular matrix were responsible for the observed shift in NF. Performing vibration response analysis on vessel grafts is feasible without compromising sterility or integrity of the samples. This technique allows direct measurement of stiffness as an important biomechanical property, obviating the need to monitor surrogate parameters. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KW - ANEURYSMS KW - ARTERIES KW - Biomechanics KW - BIOREACTOR KW - BLOOD-VESSELS KW - BYPASS GRAFTS KW - CONSTRUCTS KW - design KW - extracellular matrix KW - human umbilical vein KW - IN-VITRO KW - MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES KW - proteolysis KW - small calibre graft KW - vascular tissue engineering Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/term.2186 VL - 11 IS - 10 SP - 2828 EP - 2835 PB - Wiley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hoenicka, Markus A1 - Lehle, Karla A1 - Jacobs, V. R. A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian A1 - Kostorz, A. A1 - Schmid, F. X. A1 - Birnbaum, D. E. T1 - Mechanical and seeding properties of human umbilical vein – a potential scaffold for a tissue-engineered vessel graft JF - The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon N2 - Objectives: The mechanical properties and seeding with endothelial cells were investigated in fresh and cryopreserved human umbilical vein. Methods: Human umbilical veins (HUV) were frozen in Euro-Collins/1M DMSO at –1°C/min and stored in liquid nitrogen. Stress-strain relationships of fresh and thawed veins were determined in an uniaxial tension-testing rig. HUV endothelial cells (HUVEC) were seeded onto denuded HUV under static conditions and grown for 3d. Luminal surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Calcein-stained cells were seeded hyperconfluently to determine the cell retention capacity of fresh and cryopreserved veins. Results: The stress-strain relationships of HUV followed a biphasic pattern typical for natural vessels. Neither the failure stress (2.71±0.36 vs. 3.25±0.97 N, n=3) nor the displacement required to achieve failure (9.73±0.9 vs. 7.43±2.07mm, n=3) were altered by cryopreservation. The burst pressure was estimated as approx. 1000mm Hg within the limitations of the uniaxial model. HUVEC seeded onto denuded HUV formed patches (at 9E3 cells per cm2) or an almost confluent endothelium (at 3E4 cells per cm2) within three days. The capacity to retain seeded HUVEC of denuded HUV was not altered by cryopreservation (1.15±0.08E5 vs. 1.26±0.14E5 cells per cm2, n=6). Conclusions: The burst pressure of HUV seems to be sufficiently high for the human arterial circulation and is not altered by cryopreservation. HUVEC can establish a confluent endothelium on denuded HUV. Therefore HUV appears to be a suitable storable scaffold for vascular tissue engineering. KW - Nabelvene KW - Tissue Engineering Y1 - 2007 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-967592 VL - 55 IS - S 1 SP - P_37 PB - Thieme ER -