Fig. 5.

Endothelial cell alignment and retention under flow conditions. The simple perfusion setup consists of a peristaltic pump, the graft subjected to a bioreactor chamber and a reservoir with a 0.22 ​μm filter in the cap (A). Fibronectin, as well as hpcECM-gel enhance endothelial cell retention to flow conditions compared to uncoated surfaces (B). Whereas HUVECs align to flow direction when seeded on fibronectin-coated ePTFE grafts, the morphology remains widely unchanged on non-coated and hpcECM-gel coated conduits (C). Scale bar ​= ​50 ​μm, n ​= ​3.