Kink-free electrospun PET/PU-based vascular grafts with 3D-printed additive manufacturing reinforcement

In this study, we present the fabrication and characterization of the kink-free electrospun small caliber (4 mm in internal diameter) vascular graft based on a blend of biocompatible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and highly elastomeric polyurethane (PU) and subsequently reinforced by additive manufacturing 3D printing. We also report the design and simulation of the grafts under various internal pressures. Long-length small-diameter grafts suffer from the kink and loop formation for electrospun tubes. We have seen that collector rotation speeds (from 50 to 200 rpm) yielded grafts with varied mechanical properties and kink resistance. By reinforcing electrospun vascular grafts with the help of 3D printing, we report the reduction of the kink radius from 2.30 to 0.45 cm and 0.57 cm, respectively, for poly(lactic acid) (PLA)- and PET-reinforced vascular graft.