Fabrication of electrospinner for producing tube-shaped artificial blood vessels toward treatment applications in cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

One of the most common causes of high mortality in Vietnam, as well as in the world, is related to cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the development of artificial blood vessels to replace damaged blood vessels in cardiovascular patients has become increasingly necessary. Realizing a growing need for these techniques, our team manufactured a specialized electrospinner machine to produce artificial blood vessel models. The electrospinner has the following components: high power supply source, collectors with tubular-type structures, and a syringe pump system. This study was conducted to (i) fabricate electrospinner machine and (ii) operate and evaluate the electrospinner. We found that the conditions of vascular formation can be optimized and these influencing parameters include DC high voltage source, distance between needle tip and collector, needle tip diameter, speed of syringe pump, and ambient temperature and humidity. The results show that this equipment is stable and safe for users.

Keywords

• artificial blood vessel
• cardiovascular diseases
• electrospinner