Abstract
For in situ tissue engineering (TE) applications it is important that implant degradation proceeds in concord with neo-tissue formation to avoid graft failure. It will therefore be valuable to have an imaging contrast agent (CA) available that can report on the degrading implant. For this purpose, a biodegradable radiopaque biomaterial is presented, modularly composed of a bisurea chain-extended polycaprolactone (PCL2000-U4U) elastomer and a novel iodinated bisurea-modified CA additive (I-U4U). Supramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions between the components ensure their intimate mixing. Porous implant TE-grafts are prepared by simply electrospinning a solution containing PCL2000-U4U and I-U4U. Rats receive an aortic interposition graft, either composed of only PCL2000-U4U (control) or of PCL2000-U4U and I-U4U (test). The grafts are explanted for analysis at three time points over a 1-month period. Computed tomography imaging of the test group implants prior to explantation shows a decrease in iodide volume and density over time. Explant analysis also indicates scaffold degradation. (Immuno)histochemistry shows comparable cellular contents and a similar neo-tissue formation process for test and control group, demonstrating that the CA does not have apparent adverse effects. A supramolecular approach to create solid radiopaque biomaterials can therefore be used to noninvasively monitor the biodegradation of synthetic implants.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 2000024 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Macromolecular Bioscience |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 7 |
Early online date | 17 Jun 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2020 |
Bibliographical note
© 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.Keywords
- aortic interposition graft implants
- computed tomography imaging
- degrading supramolecular biomaterials
- modular contrast agents
- tissue engineering