Bioengineered Vascular Grafts Derived from Tubular Collagen Constructs

Vascular grafts are in high demand for vascular access in hemodialysis, peripheral arterial disease, coronary heart disease, aortic aneurysms and vascular occlusions. Across all indications, there is a clinical need for grafts which demonstrate reduced infection rates and thrombogenicity, long-term patency and the ability to regenerate damaged tissue. The Markaki Laboratory has developed a fast and scalable fabrication method to generate human-size equivalent tubular grafts made of densified collagen hydrogel. This biomaterial fabrication method does not require cells for manufacture and employs FDA-approved bovine collagen, reducing the complexity of regulatory approval in comparison to competitor technologies. The PhD project will initially focus on pre-clinical testing of this tissue engineering technology as an interposition graft (arteriovenous (AV) access and aorta) using ex vivo perfusion and in vivo studies. It will be exploring AV access as a first indication which is a non-lifethreatening procedure clinically and provides a de-risked opportunity in the space while still addressing current product deficiencies. The project will include, among other deliverables, the optimisation of heparin loading to address thrombogenicity; generation of non-thrombogenic collagen grafts for ex vivo perfusion studies, and surgical anastomosis and perfusion evaluation of collagen grafts under ex vivo conditions.