Compounding of elastin polypentapeptide to collagen analogue: a potential elastomeric prosthetic material

Peptide-Based Functional Biomaterials for Soft-Tissue Repair

Synthetically derived peptide-based biomaterials are in many instances capable of mimicking the structure and function of their full-length endogenous counterparts. Combine this with the fact that short mimetic peptides are easier to produce when compared to full length proteins, show enhanced processability and ease of modification, and have the ability to be prepared under well-defined and controlled conditions; it becomes obvious why there has been a recent push to develop regenerative biomaterials from these molecules. There is increasing evidence that the incorporation of peptides within regenerative scaffolds can result in the generation of structural recognition motifs that can enhance cell attachment or induce cell signaling pathways, improving cell infiltration or promote a variety of other modulatory biochemical responses. By highlighting the current approaches in the design and application of short mimetic peptides, we hope to demonstrate their potential in soft-tissue healing while at the same time drawing attention to the advances made to date and the problems which need to be overcome to advance these materials to the clinic for applications in heart, skin, and cornea repair.

Effect of storage upon material properties of lyophilized porcine extracellular matrix derived from the urinary bladder

Xenogeneic extracellular matrices (ECMs) have been developed as off-the-shelf biologic scaffolds that have been effectively used in preclinical and clinical applications for tissue reconstruction. Such materials must be suitable for terminal sterilization and capable of storage for extended periods of time without significant changes in material properties and bioactivity. Material properties of interest for ECM scaffolds include hydrostatic permeability index (PI), uniaxial maximum load and elongation, maximum tangential stiffness (MTS), suture retention strength (SRS), and ball-burst strength (BBS). The present study evaluated these material properties for lyophilized forms of an ECM scaffold derived from the porcine urinary bladder, termed urinary bladder matrix (UBM), that was terminally sterilized by e-beam irradiation at 22 kGy and stored at room temperature (RT; 20-24 degrees C) or refrigerated temperature (REFT; 4-8 degrees C) for up to 12 months. UBM devices showed no change in SRS, BBS, and hydrostatic PI after the evaluation period. Lyophilized devices stored at RT showed an increase in maximum load and MTS while devices stored at REFT showed an increase in maximum elongation after 1 year of storage (p < 0.05). These results indicate that structural changes in the UBM device may slowly occur as a function of prolonged storage and storage temperature.

Collagen coatings as biological sealants for textile arterial prostheses

Two collagen-coated grafts were studied: Hemashield (bovine collagen cross-linked with formaldehyde vapours and softened by exposure to glycerol) and Tascon (collagen fibres cross-linked with glutaraldehyde solution). The weight of the coating was 310 +/- 5 mg/g for Hemashield and 45 +/- 2.5 mg/g for Tascon. However, notwithstanding these differences, both coatings were efficient in making the walls of the grafts impervious to blood. The water permeabilities for the Hemashield and the Tascon were 8.7 and 5.9 ml.min-1.cm-2 at 120 mmHg respectively. The Hemashield collagen coating was rapidly eroded in vitro (4 h) after exposure to buffer, trypsin or pancreatin solutions, whereas the Tascon collagen coating remained well preserved after 7 d incubation. Both coatings were safe and did not interfere with the physical properties of the graft which was used as a skeleton. The healing properties of the Hemashield were similar to that observed with preclotted polyester prostheses, except in the early hours following graft implantation. On the other hand, the absence of erosion in the coating of the Tascon seemed to contribute to early antithrombogenicity. It also induced marked inflammatory reactions in the surrounding tissues and thus the healing appeared to be delayed.

Cellular reactions to polyester arterial prostheses impregnated with cross-linked albumin: in vivo studies in mice

This study was designed to assess the possible immunological responses in mice against polyester prostheses coated with albumin and previously stabilized either with cross-linked glutaraldehyde (GA), at different concentrations, or with carbodiimide (CDI). Prosthetic discs were first implanted in the peritoneal cavities of mice, and T cells and T cell subsets (helper, suppressor, la-bearing T lymphocytes) were then quantified before implantation and at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks post-implantation. The percentages of T cells, subsets, and the helper/suppressor cell ratio, as well as the percentage of T cells with la receptors, were similar to the control in all experimental groups. No significant difference and no correlation were observed between the groups wherever tested. Virgin and albumin-coated grafts did not induce any quantitative changes in T cell subpopulations in mice.

In vitro and in vivo characterization of an impervious polyester arterial prosthesis: the Gelseal Triaxial graft

Over the years, textile polyester arterial prostheses have acquired an excellent reputation for easy handling and good healing characteristics. Until recently, the main drawback in using them was the need for preclotting. This, however, is no longer true. Nonporous polyester grafts which have been coated with an impervious bioerodible layer during manufacture are now commercially available. The Gelseal Triaxial prosthesis is one of this new generation of grafts. It is manufactured by impregnating a Triaxial prosthesis with a gelatin coating. An in vivo and in vitro evaluation of this new device has found that its water permeability is almost zero. It has good handling and conformability characteristics, and its bursting strength is slightly greater than that of the uncoated prosthesis due, no doubt, to the presence of the gel. The rates of degradation of the gelatin coating have proven to be rapid under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. In fact, only a few traces of the gel were found remaining on the graft after 2 wk in the canine thoracic aorta. In addition, this study has demonstrated that the use of a bioerodible gelatin coating, with its ability to promote cellular regeneration, is a feasible approach with which to achieve earlier and more complete biological healing.

Albumin-coated polyester arterial prostheses: is xenogenic albumin safe?

This paper adds a new dimension to the series of studies concerned with the development of an albumin-coated polyester vascular prosthesis by addressing the question of the origin of the albumin. Previous experiments in dogs have used canine albumin-coated polyester arterial grafts. This study evaluated the biocompatibility of xenogenic material by implanting in dogs prostheses coated with bovine albumin and cross-linked with glutaraldehyde. Two series of albuminated grafts, one gamma radiation sterilized, the other ethylene oxide sterilized, as well as a preclotted control series were undertaken. The origin of the albumin did not appear to be significant. In fact, the healing pattern of the xenogenic albumin coated grafts was identical to that found previously with isogenic albumin. Nor did the method of sterilization produce significantly different pathological results. However, a slower rate of healing with the coated grafts compared to the preclotted controls did appear to be related to the slow rate of albumin erosion and the potentially cytotoxic effect of the glutaraldehyde cross-linking agent.

What is elastin; what is not

Fibrous elastin is a biologic macromolecular construct for which there currently exists a wide disparity of descriptions. On the one hand is the view that elastin is an unambiguously random network of polypeptide chains best described functionally by analogy to rubber elasticity. On the other hand, elastin is viewed as being constructed of parallel aligned filaments that are due in large part to hydrophobic associations in an aqueous milieu and are comprised of describable, preferred conformations. One class of the conformations is elastomeric and gives rise to a proposed new mechanism of elasticity called the librational entropy mechanism of elasticity. While pertinent arguments of both perspectives are noted, this review presents the latter perspective. It begins with the century old delineation of two conditions of matter, colloids and crystalloids, making the point that biologic materials previously listed as colloidal (and as such considered to be without order) have one by one been described in terms of structures with beautiful regularities. Data on the primary structure of elastin and its cross-links are discussed as are electron microscopic studies on negatively stained fibrous elastin and coacervates of elastin peptides. It is demonstrated that conformational descriptions of repeating peptides of elastin can give rise to the filaments observed in the ultrastructural studies and to a three-component working model for a fundamental unit of elastin structure. It is argued that the dominant class of conformations in the three-component model are consistent with data on the thermodynamics of elasticity, on birefringence, and on chain mobility, which had previously been considered to be indicative only of random chains. The developing understandings of molecular conformation are shown to provide a basis with which to begin an understanding of the molecular pathology of elastin.