Biology subjects

Laude, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Laude, M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Off-the-Shelf Multilayer Vascular Grafts with Damage-Resistant Hydrogel Coatings Incorporating Integrin Targeting

Synthetic grafts remain ineffective for small-caliber vascular applications due to thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia. To address these limitations, our lab designed a multilayer graft consisting of a hydrogel coating that promotes post-implantation endothelialization and an electrospun mesh that matches arterial mechanical properties. Damage-resistant hydrogels were engineered using a double-network system composed of polyether urethane diacrylamide and N-acryloyl glycinamide to enhance fracture resistance through hydrogen bonding. In this study, we utilized redox initiation to apply conformal, durable hydrogels to electrospun grafts. Bioactivity wa introduced using streptococcal collagen-like proteins containing 1{beta}1 and 2{beta}1 integrin-binding motifs, enabling selective cell-material interactions that support endothelialization while preserving acute thromboresistance. To establish the feasibility of these grafts as off-the-shelf devices, we evaluated coating integrity and bioactivity retention following sterilization and dynamic physiological loading. Sterilized composites exhibited surgically-associated damage resistance, indicating that sterilization did not compromise hydrogel durability. Coating integrity and bioactivity were also preserved after six weeks of physiological loading. Acut thromboresistance was supported by both static platelet adhesion assays and dynamic whole-blood bioreactor studies using heparinized blood, with low platelet adhesion observed relative to ePTFE. Finally, a pilot ovine carotid model demonstrated successful surgical handling and sustained graft patency. Collectively, these results highlight the promise of multilayer vascular grafts as durable, thromboresistant conduits for small-diameter vascular applications. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=60 SRC="FIGDIR/small/741222v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (33K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@14ec910org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@17259e8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6cb611org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1251d7d_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2025

Co-Electrospinning Extracellular Matrix with Polycaprolactone Enables a Modular Approach to Balance Bioactivity and Mechanics of a Multifunctional Bone Wrap

Decellularized tissue possesses significant regenerative potential, yet fabricating complex extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds remains challenging. Blending with synthetic polymers can aid ECM fabrication but often relies on digested ECM and encapsulation within the synthetic matrix can limit cell-ECM interactions. We recently developed a suspension electrospinning platform to facilitate ECM scaffold fabrication without the need for digestion or polymer-carriers. Its integration into a co- electrospinning system enables modular design of composite scaffolds to combine the regenerative potential of ECM with the advantages of synthetic polymers. This study directly compares co- electrospinning and blend electrospinning of polycaprolactone and small intestinal submucosa (SIS) for use as a bone wrap to augment membrane durability, sustain infection control, and enhance vascularity in Masquelets induced membrane technique. Co-spun wraps demonstrated improved handling properties as compared to ECM wraps and solvent welding was used to achieve target suture retention standards without diminishing SIS content. Unlike the blended wraps, the co-spun wraps supported full-thickness cell infiltration within 4 weeks, released gentamicin at a bactericidal concentration for 6 weeks, and demonstrated enhanced angiogenic properties. Collectively, these findings highlight the functionality of a co-electrospinning modular design and demonstrate the efficacy of using a co-spun wrap in bone tissue engineering applications.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2025

Advanced Manufacturing of Coil-Reinforced Multilayer Vascular Grafts to Optimize Biomechanical Performance

Small diameter vascular grafts require a complex balance of biomechanical properties to achieve target burst pressure, arterial compliance-matching, and kink resistance to prevent failure. Iterative design of our multilayer vascular was previously used to achieve high compliance while retaining the requisite burst pressure and suture retention strength for clinical use. To impart kink resistance, a custom 3D solution printer was used to add a polymeric coil to the electrospun polyurethane graft to support the graft during bending. The addition of this reinforcing coil increased kink resistance but reduced compliance. A matrix of grafts were fabricated and tested to establish key structure-property relationships between coil parameters (spacing, diameter, modulus) and biomechanical properties (compliance, kink radius). A successful graft design was identified with a compliance similar to saphenous vein grafts (4.1 {+/-} 0.4 %/mmHgx10-2) while maintaining comparable kink resistance to grafts used currently in the clinic. To explore graft combinations that could increase graft compliance to match arterial values while retaining this kink resistance, we utilized finite element (FE) models of compliance and kink radius that simulated experimental testing. The FE-predicted graft compliance agreed well with experimental values. Although the kink model over-predicted the experimental kink radius values, key trends between graft parameters and kink resistance were reproduced. As an initial proof-of-concept, the validated models were then utilized to parse through a targeted graft design space. Although this initial parameter range tested did not yield a graft that improved upon the previous balance of graft properties, this combination of advanced manufacturing and computational framework paves the way for future model-driven design to further optimize graft performance. TOC O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=97 SRC="FIGDIR/small/633374v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (45K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@faca56org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@f9dccforg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@fbb5corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@d5c021_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2024

Design of PEG-based hydrogels as soft ionic conductors

Conductive hydrogels have gained interest in biomedical applications and soft electronics. To tackle the challenge of ionic hydrogels falling short of desired mechanical properties in previous studies, our investigation aimed to understand the pivotal structural factors that impact the conductivity and mechanical behavior of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based hydrogels with ionic conductivity. Polyether urethane diacrylamide (PEUDAm), a functionalized long-chain macromer based on PEG, was used to synthesize hydrogels with ionic conductivity conferred by incorporating ions into the liquid phase of hydrogel. The impact of salt concentration, water content, temperature, and gel formation on both mechanical properties and conductivity was characterized to establish parameters for tuning hydrogel properties. To further expand the range of conductivity available in these ionic hydrogels, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) was incorporated as a single copolymer network or double network configuration. As expected, conductivity in these ionic gels was primarily driven by ion diffusivity and charge density, which was dependent on hydrogel network formation and swelling. Copolymer network structure had minimal effect on the conductivity which was primarily driven by counter-ion equilibrium; however, the mechanical properties and equilibrium swelling was strongly dependent on network structure. The structure-property relationships elucidated here enables the rationale design of this new double network hydrogel to achieve target properties for a broad range of applications.

bioengineering↗