Table 1.

Examples of recent biomaterials, cells, fabrication techniques, and tissue maturation methods for functional TEVG production.

Biomaterial	Cell Type	Fabrication Technique	Tissue Maturation	Highlights	Year	Refs.
PCL	Human endothelial colony forming cells and multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells	Electrospinning and melt electrowriting	Perfusion bioreactor combining static maturation on outside layer and luminal shear stress dynamic stimulation	The bilayered TEVG showed a physiological-like cell organization and phenotype, due to the bioreactors design which allows the achievement of vascular layer-specific characteristics.	2019	[84]
Gelatin coated PGA	vSMCs derived from hiPSCs	Cell seeding on premade biodegradable scaffolds	Peristaltic pump bioreactor for incremental pulsatile stretching dynamic culturing	The hiPSCs-derived vSMCs seeded on the biodegradable scaffold produced cellularized collagenous TEVGs with physiological-like mechanical properties, which were maintained, along with patency, following in vivo implantation.	2020	[85]
ECM and PCL	Acellular	Decellularization and electrospinning	None	Small-diameter TEVG made by electrospinning PCL for reinforcing a decellularized vessel. The graft showed good integration between the materials, biocompatibility, and hemocompatibility.	2020	[86]
Polydioxanone and PCL	Acellular	Electrospinning and 3D printing	None	This bilayered TEVG, enriched with immobilized VEGF, proved to be a good conduit for vascular tissue regeneration, allowing for improved cellularization in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, it was able to maintain mechanical properties after in vivo implantation, due to the 3D-printed PCL reinforcement.	2020	[87]
Polyurethane	Acellular	Dip-coating on 3D-printed vascular templates	None	The synthetic graft showed excellent physiological-like mechanical properties, surpassing those of commercially available grafts. Furthermore, the TEVG proved to reduce thrombogenesis in vivo, with improved endothelialization of the graft.	2021	[88]
ECM	Acellular	Decellularization	None	A new decellularization method was developed to ensure antigen removal in the TEVG, with retention of ECM basement membrane. This allowed the achievement of a TEVG for small-diameter grafts with high patency rates after in vivo implantation.	2021	[89]
Alginate and collagen	Acellular	Molding	None	Natural-based TEVGs with tunable macro-architecture properties were produced. The cross-linking method developed proved to improve stability and mechanical properties while maintaining bioactivity.	2022	[90]
PCL and ECM	Acellular	Electrospinning	None	The TEVG, with heparin and VEGF added, showed excellent hemocompatibility and cell infiltration. Moreover, in vivo studies demonstrated the TEVGs‘ integration with a decreased thrombus risk.	2022	[91]
PCL	Murine vSMCs	Electrospinning	Perfusion-based bioreactor for seeding and culturing cells under dynamic conditions	The use of a low-cost and simple dynamic cell seeding and culturing bioreactor proved to produce a TEVG with more evenly distributed and viable cells compared to static conditions.	2022	[92]
PCL, collagen, and gelatin	Acellular	Electrospinning	None	An electrospun trilayered TEVG made with an inner PCL/collagen layer to improve endothelialization, a medial PCL layer, and an outer PCL/gelatin layer. The construct showed physiological-like ultrastructure of electrospun fibers and mechanical properties exceeding those of native vessels.	2022	[93]
Polyurethane, silk fibroin, gelatin, and chitosan	Acellular	Electrospinning and freeze-drying	None	Heparinized multicomponent TEVGs showed increased mechanical properties, cell integration, and ability to release heparin over time, producing antithrombotic characteristics.	2022	[94]
Alginate and collagen	Murine fibroblasts	3D printing	None	The addition of collagen to the bioink proved to ameliorate the mechanical properties of the construct and increase cell adhesion and viability.	2022	[95]
Silk fibroin and polyurethane	Acellular	Electrospinning	None	Hybrid TEVGs, with physiological-like structure characteristics, were obtained. The small-calibre TEVGs showed good compliance, with adequate application up to 3 months after in vivo implantation.	2022	[96]
Alginate, hyaluronic acid, and ECM	Acellular	3D printing	None	The approach produced a multi-component bioink that could be printed into a vascular graft with appropriate mechanical properties. Moreover, the TEVG also showed excellent angiogenic and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro.	2023	[97]