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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

Sec. Biomaterials

This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Biomaterials and (Bio)fabrication for Medical ImplantsView all 6 articles

Elastic, Load-Bearing and Autoclavable Protein-based Graft for Coronary Revascularization

Provisionally accepted
Federica SallustioFederica Sallustio1Ikram El MaachiIkram El Maachi1Dominic Pascal AndreDominic Pascal Andre1Alexander LoewenAlexander Loewen1Amanda SchmidtAmanda Schmidt1Stefan RuettenStefan Ruetten2Marius HeitzerMarius Heitzer3Stefan JockenhoevelStefan Jockenhoevel1Jose Carlos Rodriguez-CabelloJose Carlos Rodriguez-Cabello4Alicia Fernández-ColinoAlicia Fernández-Colino1*
  • 1Department of Biohybrid & Medical Textiles (BioTex), AME-Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, Helmholtz Institute, Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Aachen, Germany
  • 2Electron Microscopy Facility, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
  • 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
  • 4Bioforge Lab (Group for Advanced Materials and Nanobiotechnology), CIBER-BBN, Edificio LUCIA University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain

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Autologous grafts, such as the internal mammary artery and saphenous vein, are considered the gold standard for coronary artery bypass. However, there is a critical need for small diameter vascular grafts to meet the demands of coronary artery disease patients, as limitations become especially pronounced due to the extremely small caliber of target vessels. Therefore, we designed and manufactured a miniaturized, autoclavable and synthetic-free vascular graft, composed of elastin-like recombinamers hydrogel and native-like silk fibroin textile to ensure an optimal biological integration and mechanical performance, according to ISO 7198 guideline. The construct demonstrated consistent morphological homogeneity and maintained luminal patency throughout its length. The graft was able to replicate the mechanical performance of the autografts in terms of suture retention and compliance and facilitated the formation of an endothelial monolayer, ensuring a physiologically relevant environment prior to implantation. Moreover, the clinical implantation potential was demonstrated by a successful anastomosis to a human vessel in vitro. The proposed graft represents a viable replacement for this clinical application when autografts are not accessible, avoiding a second surgical site and harvesting morbidity.

Keywords: Autoclavable, Coronary Artery Bypass, Elastin-like recombinamers, miniaturized vascular graft, textile

Received: 25 Oct 2025; Accepted: 08 Dec 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Sallustio, El Maachi, Andre, Loewen, Schmidt, Ruetten, Heitzer, Jockenhoevel, Rodriguez-Cabello and Fernández-Colino. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Alicia Fernández-Colino

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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