Mechanical properties of L-lysine based segmented polyurethane vascular grafts and their shape memory potential

Segmented polyurethanes based on polycaprolactone, 4,4 (metylene-bis-cyclohexyl) isocyanate, and L-lysine were synthesized, manufactured as small vascular grafts and characterized according to ISO 7198 standard for cardiovascular implants—tubular vascular prosthesis. In terms of mechanical properties, the newly synthesized polyurethane films exhibited lower secant modulus than Tecoflex™ SG 80A, a well-known medical grade polyurethane. Similarly, when tested as grafts, the L-lysine-based polyurethane exhibited lower longitudinal failure load (11.5 N vs. 116 N), lower circumferential failure load per unit length (5.67 N/mm vs. 14.0 N/mm) and lower suture forces for both nylon (13.3 N vs. 24.0 N) and silk (14.0 N vs. 19.3 N) when compared to Tecoflex™ SG 80A grafts. L-Lysine-based graft exhibited a burst strength of 3620 mmHg (482.6 kPa) and a compliance of 0.16%/mmHg. The cell adhesion was demonstrated with NIH/3T3 fibroblasts where cell adhesion was observed on both films and grafts, while cell alignment was observed only on the grafts. The mechanical properties of this polyurethane and the possibility of strain-induced PCL crystals as the switching phase for shape memory materials, allowed a strain recovery ratio and a strain fixity ratio with values higher than 95% and 90%, respectively, with a repeatability of the shape-memory properties up to 4 thermo-mechanical cycles. Overall, the properties of lysine-based polyurethanes are suitable for large diameter vascular grafts where cell alignment can be controlled by their shape memory potential.