Dear Colleagues,

With the growth in the aging population, younger, healthy donor vascular tissue, which is needed in bypass or vascular replacement surgery, may not be easily obtained. The rapid innovations that have been seen in recent years regarding vascular grafts through the tissue engineering approach provide an opportunity to transfer this biomedical technology into the field of cardiovascular surgery, pediatric surgery and microsurgical reconstruction where vascular graft is needed.  The development of tissue engineering vascular grafting (TEVG) could potentially solve problems such as shortage of donor vessels in about 30% of patients and additional donor site. The current challenge in TEVG includes thrombus formation, chronic inflammation, calcification and aneurysmal dilatation, which may hinder its long-term performance. There are several factors related to the patency of TEVG in vivo, and the most important issues are adequate endothelialization and matched mechanical properties. The success of a vascular graft mostly depends on the properties of scaffolds. The present technology of vascular scaffolds includes synthetic (degradable or non-degradable), biopolymer and biological materials. These biomaterials have different measurements in terms of their physical chemistry, biomechanical properties and biocompatibility in vitro, as well as pre-clinical performance, thereby providing investigators with data that can be used to improve the outcome of TEVG clinically. Due to the diversity of biomaterials and a lack of consensus regarding regulation in the development of tissue engineering vascular grafts, this Special Issue provides updated information in these fields, especially focusing on small-diameter tissue engineering vascular grafting (SD-TEVG). SD-TEVG is more valuable for application in bypass and vascular replacement surgery for the salvage of distal part tissues. In addition, advancements in vascular technology can play a crucial role in the future development of artificial organs.

Although the results regarding TEVG and SD-TEVG from past studies are promising, a clinically applicable SD-TEVG has not yet been seen. Important challenges ahead include shortening the producing/manufacture time, reducing the costs and enhancing the short-term and long-term in vivo performance. Several clinical trials regarding SD-TEVG are underway, and it is anticipated that SD-TEVG will be tested in congenital heart disease, chronic kidney disease and peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Its application in other fields associated with vascular replacement or bridging are scarce, and SD-TEVG could broaden its utilization in microsurgical reconstruction or free flap surgery, as vessel depletion is common in patients with advanced stages of cancer, who may require multiple surgeries. The future development of SD-TEVG could incorporate 3D bio-printing and a virtual surgical planning technique to guide, personalize, and optimize vascular reconstruction.

This Special Issue, entitled “Biomaterials for Vascular Tissue Engineering”, aims to facilitate the investigation of functional biomaterials for vascular tissue engineering, especially for SD-TEVG. It intends to explore technologies related to the clinical application of SD-TEVG in vascular bypass or replacement surgery.

The main topics of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

• State-of-the-art and next-generation biomaterials for vascular tissue engineering;
• Functional biomaterials, especially those that focus on the development of SD-TEVG;
• Different aspects of functional biomaterials for application in SD-TEVG, e.g., anti-thrombosis, cellular compatibility, and mechanical properties; 
• Surface modification/coating techniques in the development of SD-TEVG;
• Optimal recellularization techniques in vascular scaffolds;
• The criteria for the in vitro testing of SD-TEVG via functional biomaterials;
• Animal model and preclinical criteria for in vivo testing of SD-TEVG;
• The inflammatory response of different biomaterials to SD-TEVG;
• Image monitoring of preclinical in vivo performance of SD-TEVG;
• The development of SD-TEVG via functional biomaterials from an industry perspective;
• Clinical applications in vascular bypass or replacement surgery or dialysis surgery, such as congenital heart disease, pediatric surgery, chronic kidney disease, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, microsurgical flap reconstruction.

Dr. Chih-Hsun Lin
Dr. Jin-Jia Hu
Guest Editors

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• biomaterials
• tissue engineering
• vascular graft
• bypass surgery
• endothelialization
• aneurysm