Surface microarchitectural design in biomedical applications: In vitro transmural endothelialization on microporous segmented polyurethane films fabricated using an excimer laser

Abstract

We describe the preparation of segmented polyurethane (SPU) films with round micropores and present a quantitative assay method of endothelial cell (EC) migration through micropores of and growth on microprocessed SPU films as an in vitro model of transmural endothelialization in open cell-structured small diameter vascular grafts. The micropored films, pores of which ranged from 9 to 100 μm in diameter, were microfabricated using an excimer laser. Time-dependent processes of EC ingrowth through micropores of SPU films with different pore sizes, which have a confluent monoloayer sheet on one face and are cell free on the other, and subsequent endothelialization were quantitatively studied. The circular cellular sheet centered at the micropores expanded as incubation proceeded. Markedly retarded migration was found for the smallest pore size (9 μm in diameter). The larger the pore, the higher was the endothelialization rate. The endothelialization characteristics were studied on multiply micropored films of different pore sizes and densities, each of which was prepared so as to provide a fixed total pore area per unit area (0.01 mm2 per mm2). The highest endothelialization rates in an early incubation period were found on films with micropores between 18 and 50 μm in diameter.