Evaluation of Densified Collagen Tubes as an Interposition Graft in Abdominal Aorta
- 1Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, UK
Abstract
A major challenge in vascular tissue engineering is the development of scalable fabrication methods capable of producing vascular grafts with suitable mechanical properties and hemocompatibility for both preclinical evaluation and future clinical translation. Using a recently developed method to generate acellular vascular grafts from densified collagen hydrogel, we present a proof-of-concept in vivo evaluation of the scalable collagen graft technology. Thick-walled, genipin-crosslinked grafts, representative of a fabrication approach applicable to clinically relevant vessel sizes, were implanted as interposition grafts in the rat abdominal aorta. These grafts supported rapid neointima formation and re-endothelialisation of the luminal surface but developed late thrombosis, highlighting the challenges of evaluating clinically scalable grafts in small-animal models. To enable assessment of the platform in millimetre-scale vessels, we developed a thin-walled (~100 {micro}m), non-crosslinked graft using a constrained densification approach and hyaluronic acid-mediated modulation of collagen fibril assembly to improve compliance matching and hemocompatibility, with the latter providing a matrix-level approach that may complement surface-bound antithrombotic coatings. These grafts remained patent for up to 17 weeks and exhibited neointima formation, re-endothelialisation, and early cellular infiltration into the graft wall. Together, these findings demonstrate in vivo functionality of densified collagen vascular grafts and establish a foundation for future evaluation in larger animal models.
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BibTeX
@misc{justin2026evaluation,
title = {{Evaluation of Densified Collagen Tubes as an Interposition Graft in Abdominal Aorta}},
author = {A. W. Justin and M. A. Al Fahad and F. Cammarata and C. T. Goh and Y. Lai and Y. Sun and D. Trajkovski and A. Petchey and N. K. Ramakrishnan and A. Winskell and A. Segonds-Pichon and M.-A. Genain and M. Goddard and S. Sinha and K. Saeb-Parsy and A. E. Markaki},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.07.757321},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757321v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Evaluation of Densified Collagen Tubes as an Interposition Graft in Abdominal Aorta
AU - A. W. Justin
AU - M. A. Al Fahad
AU - F. Cammarata
AU - C. T. Goh
AU - Y. Lai
AU - Y. Sun
AU - D. Trajkovski
AU - A. Petchey
AU - N. K. Ramakrishnan
AU - A. Winskell
AU - A. Segonds-Pichon
AU - M.-A. Genain
AU - M. Goddard
AU - S. Sinha
AU - K. Saeb-Parsy
AU - A. E. Markaki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.07.757321
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757321v1
AB - A major challenge in vascular tissue engineering is the development of scalable fabrication methods capable of producing vascular grafts with suitable mechanical properties and hemocompatibility for both preclinical evaluation and future clinical translation. Using a recently developed method to generate acellular vascular grafts from densified collagen hydrogel, we present a proof-of-concept in vivo evaluation of the scalable collagen graft technology. Thick-walled, genipin-crosslinked grafts, representative of a fabrication approach applicable to clinically relevant vessel sizes, were implanted as interposition grafts in the rat abdominal aorta. These grafts supported rapid neointima formation and re-endothelialisation of the luminal surface but developed late thrombosis, highlighting the challenges of evaluating clinically scalable grafts in small-animal models. To enable assessment of the platform in millimetre-scale vessels, we developed a thin-walled (~100 {micro}m), non-crosslinked graft using a constrained densification approach and hyaluronic acid-mediated modulation of collagen fibril assembly to improve compliance matching and hemocompatibility, with the latter providing a matrix-level approach that may complement surface-bound antithrombotic coatings. These grafts remained patent for up to 17 weeks and exhibited neointima formation, re-endothelialisation, and early cellular infiltration into the graft wall. Together, these findings demonstrate in vivo functionality of densified collagen vascular grafts and establish a foundation for future evaluation in larger animal models.
ER -