State of the Art of Small-Diameter Vessel-Polyurethane Substitutes

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are a severe threat to human health. Implantation of small-diameter vascular substitutes is a promising therapy in clinical operations. Polyurethane (PU) is considered one of the most suitable materials for this substitution due to its good mechanical properties, controlled biostability, and proper biocompatibility. According to biodegradability and biostability, in this review, PU small-diameter vascular substitutes are divided into two groups: biodegradable scaffolds and biostable prostheses, which are applied to the body for short- and long-term, respectively. Following this category, the degradation principles and mechanisms of different kinds of PUs are first discussed; then the chemical and physical methods for adjusting the properties and the research advances are summarized. On the basis of these discussions, the problems remaining at present are addressed, and the contour of future research and development of PU-based small-diameter vascular substitutes toward clinical applications is outlined.

Keywords: biodegradability; polyurethane; prosthesis; scaffold; small-diameter vessel.