Cell adhesion and viability of human endothelial cells on electrospun polymer scaffolds

The usage of electrospun polymer scaffolds is a promising approach for artificial heart valve design. This study aims at the evaluation of biological performance of nanofibrous polymer scaffolds poly(L-lactide) PLLA L210, PLLA L214 and polyamide-6 fabricated by electrospinning via analyzing viability, adhesion and morphology of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (EA.hy926). Nanofibrous surface topography was shown to influence cell phenotype and cell viability according to the observation of diminished cell spreading accompanied with reduced cell viability on nonwovens. Among those, highest biocompatibility was assessed for PLLA L214, although being generally low when compared to the planar control surface. Electrospinning was demonstrated as an innovative technique for the fabrication of advanced biomaterials aiming at guided cellular behavior as well as the design of novel implant platforms. A better understanding of cell–biomaterial interactions is desired to further improve implant development

Investigation of the pressure gradient of embolic protection devices

To avoid debris coming to the cerebral vessels during carotid artery stenting, embolic protection devices (EPD) are placed in front of the lesion. To evaluate their influence on the antegrade blood flow a test setup with a silicone tube simulating the internal carotid artery is realized. The pressure gradient of five different EPD was measured while particles were brought into the circuit and were caught by the systems. Additionally the microscopic structure of the systems was observed to correlate the morphology and the pressure gradient. The FiberNet device had the lowest pressure gradient. It was the only system that consists of fibers contrary to the systems RX Accunet, Angioguard RX, FilterWireEZ and EmboshieldNAV that contain porous membranes