Electrospinning of a biomimetic and bioresorbable monolithic aortic valve scaffold

Mechanical and biological prosthetic heart valves are currently implanted to restore the proper blood hemodynamics when the native valves fail. Despite their widespread use, these devices present some disadvantages, including hemolysis or calcification, and, above all, they are, evidently, unable to grow, repair and remodel. In this scenario, tissue-engineered heart valves represent a very attractive alternative approach. Here, we evaluated the possibility to design a monolithic aortic valve by electrospinning of natural occurring ECM polymers, with the aim to construct a scaffold closely resembling the architecture of native valve tissue.