Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Cardiovascular diseases are one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. In the case of severe arteriosclerotic damage, surgical treatment is necessary. Although the use of autologous vessels is still considered to be the gold standard, sufficient autologous vessels for transplantation are lacking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, histological examination and in vitro cytotoxicity analysis according to DIN EN ISO 10993-5 were performed on a newly developed porcine vascular graft from a decellularized aorta. A conventional bovine graft was used as control. RESULTS: The ex vivo-histological analysis revealed the effectiveness of a new purification process on the microstructure and the removal of xenogeneic antigen-bearing structures in the new vessels. Furthermore, cell viability and cytotoxicity assays revealed full cytocompatibility. CONCLUSION: The novel graft shows no structural damage and gets completely decellularized by the purification process. Superior cytocompatibility, compared with the bovine-derived vascular graft, was demonstrated.