Building Stronger Nanofiber Scaffolds for Regenerative Aortic Valves

Abstract

For the many patients in need of heart valve replacements, a lifetime of medical difficulties accompanies the available mechanical and bioprosthetic implant options. Scientists are working to address these comorbidities by developing regenerative heart valves made of biodegradable fibrous scaffolds that are immediately capable of controlling one-way blood flow while guiding the patient’s own cells to reconstruct the valve with native tissue. Our group’s state-of-the-art regenerative valve scaffolds are manufactured quickly and consistently with focused rotary jet spinning of a PLA/PCL copolymer (PLCL). However, this valve design has thus far only proven to be functional in the pulmonary position, and a more robust design is needed for a valve scaffold to operate in the higher-pressure aortic position. This project presents an upgraded regenerative valve design for functionality in the aortic position by engineering a new PLCL scaffold material suitable for more extreme pressure and flow conditions by altering the copolymer composition to improve mechanical strength without sacrificing regenerative capability. The experiments conducted to analyze the potential of this novel material demonstrate initial success in biocompatibility with 2D scaffold cell culture and valve functionality with in vitro flow testing in a simulated aortic environment.