Chondroitin‐4‐Sulfate: A Bioactive Macromolecule to Foster Vascular Healing around Stent‐Grafts after Endovascular Aneurysm Repair

Abstract

Deficient healing after endovascular aneurysm repair with a stent-graft is thought to be related to pro-apoptotic environment in abdominal aortic aneurysms and inertness of graft materials. We developed a bioactive coating containing chondroitin-4-sulfate and assessed its potential to improve cell adhesion, viability and resistance to apoptosis on PET surfaces. Coatings of collagen type I and CS were prepared and characterized by DMMB, FT-IR, DSC, SEM and contact angle goniometry. Preliminary cell culture experiments with vascular smooth muscle cells showed increased adhesion and viability in serum-free medium on CS-coated surfaces compared to control PET films.