Development of Large-Diameter Tissue-Engineered Vascular Grafts as an Alternative to Synthetic Conduits for Emergency Large-Vessel Trauma Reconstruction: A Preliminary Study

This study developed and mechanically characterized large-diameter tissue-engineered vascular graft scaffolds derived from porcine thoracic aorta as potential alternatives to synthetic conduits for emergency reconstruction of major vessels. Twelve porcine thoracic aortic segments were divided into paired native, decellularized, and decellularized plus glutaraldehyde-crosslinked groups. A rapid perfusion-based decellularization protocol used sequential 1% Triton X-100 and 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment to remove cellular material while preserving the extracellular matrix architecture. Decellularization significantly reduced wall thickness, ultimate tensile stress, and Young’s modulus compared with native tissue while preserving failure strain. Native specimens had an ultimate tensile stress of 5.34 ± 0.41 MPa and Young’s modulus of 4.96 ± 0.42 MPa, whereas decellularized specimens decreased to 4.09 ± 0.25 MPa and 4.12 ± 0.25 MPa, respectively. Subsequent crosslinking with 0.6% glutaraldehyde restored ultimate tensile stress to 5.16 ± 0.71 MPa, statistically comparable with native tissue, and increased Young’s modulus to 5.93 ± 0.84 MPa, exceeding native values. This strengthening occurred at the cost of extensibility, with failure strain decreasing from 124.25 ± 11.61% in native tissue and 121.25 ± 12.61% after decellularization to 105.33 ± 8.83% after crosslinking. Histology confirmed removal of cell nuclei while retaining the fibrillar extracellular matrix structure. Overall, the results establish a biomechanical basis for developing decellularized porcine aortic tissue as an off-the-shelf large-diameter vascular graft, while highlighting the trade-off between glutaraldehyde-mediated mechanical reinforcement and reduced compliance and extensibility.