| Abstract: | Mechanical mismatch between vascular grafts and blood vessels is a major cause of smaller diameter vascular graft failure. To minimize this mismatch, several poly‐l ‐lactide‐co‐ε‐caprolactone (PLC) copolymers are evaluated as candidate materials to fabricate a small diameter graft. Using these materials, tubular prostheses of 4 mm inner diameter are fabricated by dip‐coating. In vitro static and dynamic compliance tests are conducted, using custom‐built apparatus featuring a closed flow system with water at 37 °C. Grafts of PLC monomer ratio of 50:50 are the most compliant (1.56% ± 0.31?mm Hg?2), close to that of porcine aortic branch arteries (1.56% ± 0.43?mm Hg?2), but underwent high continuous dilatation (87 µm min?1). Better matching is achieved by optimizing the thickness of a tubular conduit made from 70:30 PLC grafts. In vivo implantation and function of a PLC 70:30 conduit of 150 µm wall‐thickness (WT) are tested as a rabbit aorta bypass. An implanted 150 µm WT PLC 70:30 prosthesis is observed over 3 h. The recorded angiogram shows continuous blood flow, no aneurysmal dilatation, leaks, or acute thrombosis during the in vivo test, indicating the potential for clinical applications. |
