Hyaluronic acid oligosaccharide-modified collagen nanofibers as vascular tissue-engineered scaffold for promoting endothelial cell proliferation

Hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides (oHAs) have shown promising results in promoting vascular endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and endothelialization. To engineered develop tissue scaffold for promoting EC proliferation and vessel endothelialization, different sizes of oHAs were prepared and grafted onto collagen to improve the biological properties of the synthesized materials, especially in angiogenesis. Firstly, oHAs were successfully prepared and conjugated with collagen to construct glycosylated collagens by reductive amination. The glycosylated collagens were then electrospun into various nanofibrous structures and their morphology and hemocompatibility, as well as EC responses on these nanofibrous scaffolds, were studied to evaluate the potential for vascular tissue engineering. The results showed that the nanofibrous scaffolds grafted by oHAs promoted EC proliferation whereas high molecular weight HA inhibited proliferation. The scaffolds had no detectable degree of hemolysis and coagulation, suggesting their promise as engineered vascular tissue scaffolds.