Degradation analysis on electrospun membrane of polyurethane blended chitosan for cardiovascular graft

Abstract

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is classified as the heart abnormality aside from myocardial damage which results in the blockage of coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart. In this study, a degradable vascular graft was developed to overcome the complications that associated with CHD. The degradable graft was fabricated in a structure of electrospun membranes using polyurethane (PU) matrix blended with chitosan (CS). The degradation analyses were performed through an immersion procedure by conducting the weight loss measurement and the element release test. The blending of PU with CS resulted in the increment of membrane degradability. The CS elements were released from the PU/CS membranes following the Higuchi model release mechanism. As a conclusion, the PU/CS membranes possess the degradable properties which might serve as a plausible candidate for the development of vascular graft for repairing cardiac damage.