Biohybrid microvascular interponates with integrated elastin-like recombinamers – validation of stability and biomimetic elasticity in human vessels

Autologous vein grafts remain the gold standard for microvascular interpositions in reconstructive maxillofacial surgery, despite their high failure rates and the additional operation site. Against this background, this ex vivo study investigates a novel biohybrid microvascular graft based on elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs). The biohybrid graft design consists of ELRs combined with the mechanical support of textile components. The compliance and pressure resistance of the developed grafts were evaluated and compared with human fresh cadaver vessels (radial artery). The ELRs biohybrid grafts were microsurgically anastomosed with human radial arteries, and were compared with human vein interposition grafts from the saphena vein. The ELRs grafts exhibited comparable and favorable compliance to real human vessels. The burst pressure values of 543 ± 71 mmHg of the ELRs grafts were above the physiological blood pressure load. The tensile strength of the interponated ELRs grafts were significantly higher at 4.2 ± 1.15 N (p = 0.025) compared to interponated venous grafts with tensile strength of 3.20 ± 0.65 N. The ex vivo investigations of the novel ELRs biohybrid microvascular grafts revealed promising properties for the application as microvascular interposition graft in terms of compliance, pressure resistance, and tensile strength compared to the current gold standard.