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Design and Fabrication of a 3D Scaffold for the Aortic Root Tissue Engineering Application

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Abstract

In this study, a polymeric human aortic root made of hydrogel-based biomaterials is proposed. To design the geometry of the root, an advanced surfacing technique based on the de Casteljau method (for developing Bezier surfaces) was applied. The three-dimensional geometry was developed using two-dimensional images obtained by the radial dissection of an adult human aortic root. The biomaterial used for the aortic valve was a biocompatible hydrogel made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) reinforced by bacterial cellulose (BC) natural nanofibers in a combination of 15% PVA and 0.5% BC, by weight fraction. The biomaterial used for the root was only 10% PVA. The tensile properties of the synthesized PVA-BC that were measured are close to those of the human aortic valve leaflet tissue in the two principle directions, radial and circumferential. Also, we obtained a close match of the stress–strain curves for the aorta in the circumferential and axial directions and anisotropic 10% PVA with 75% initial strain after cycle 3. A cavity mold was designed and manufactured and the proposed polymeric valve was then fabricated. An extensive finite element analysis was performed in order to optimize the final product. The proposed model can be further considered for clinical applications or may be used for tissue engineering applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the University of British Columbia and NSERC (Discovery Grant) for financial support.

Funding

The funding were provided by University of British Columbia and NSERC Discovery Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Heart Valve Performance Laboratory, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science, School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada

    Danial Sharifikia, Mohamed Salem Yafia, Guy Fradet & Hadi Mohammadi

  2. Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, Faculty of Applied Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Hadi Mohammadi

  3. Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Guy Fradet & Hadi Mohammadi

Authors
  1. Danial Sharifikia
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  2. Mohamed Salem Yafia
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  3. Guy Fradet
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  4. Hadi Mohammadi
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Correspondence to Hadi Mohammadi.

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Sharifikia, D., Salem Yafia, M., Fradet, G. et al. Design and Fabrication of a 3D Scaffold for the Aortic Root Tissue Engineering Application. J. Med. Biol. Eng. 38, 211–221 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40846-017-0290-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40846-017-0290-9

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