Table 3. Biodegradable scaffolds.

Polymer assembly	Cell type seeded	Preconditioning scheme	Culture time	In vivo system	Explant histology	Patency	Ref.
Polyglycolide fibers reinforced with a Dacron® outer sleeve	–	–	–	Rabbit aorta	Endothelial- and smooth muscle-like cell infiltration	At least 9 months	[49]
Poly(ether urethane urea) (Lycra) scaffold impregnated with PEG/PLA	–	–	–	Canine carotid arteries	Improvement of transmural tissue ingrowth and vascularization; thin, uniform intima and EC lining	At least 3 months	[158]
PLGA fiber mesh compounded with collagen microsponge was frozen and lyophilized prior to glutaraldehyde crosslinking	–	–	–	Pulmonary trunks of beagle dogs	No intimal thickening; EC monolayer and parallel alignment of SMCs; reconstructed vessel wall with elastin and collagen fibers	At least 6 months	[159]
Electrospun PCL	–	–	–	Rat abdominal aorta	Confluent endothelium at 12 weeks; neocapillary formation; thin neointima	At least 24 weeks	[160]
Electrospun PLLA membrane consisting of nanofibers	Bone marrow MSCs	MSCs seeded onto membranes, then rolled into 0.7 mm mandrel	3 days	Rat common carotid artery	Development of elastic lamina layer; no significant intimal hyperplasia; organized vascular cell infiltration	At least 60 days	[161]
Nonwoven PGA mesh coated with poly 4-hydroxy-butyrate	Ovine vascular myofibroblasts and ECs	Sequential seeding and culture of myofibroblasts and ECs	21 days	Main pulmonary artery in lambs	Stiffer tissue properties compared with native artery due to increased collagen content and no elastin production; no thrombus formation or calcification; appropriate EC and SMC layers were present	At least 100 weeks	[162]

EC: Endothelial cell; MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell; PCL: Polycaprolactone; PEG: Polyethylene glycol; PGA: Polyglycolic acid; PLA: Polylactic acid; PLGA: Polylactide-coglycolide; PLLA: Poly-l-lactic acid