New bioactivation mode for vascular prostheses made of Dacron® polyester

The performance of vascular prostheses, especially those of small calibre, still presents several problems. The use of polyesters such as the well-known poly(ethylene terephthalate) (Dacron®) and, more recently, poly(tetrafluoroethylene) and polyurethanes provides a marked improvement. We have developed a process to increase the efficiency of such prostheses, using the ability of the Dacron® polyester to be covalently modified by proteins under mild chemical conditions. The biomaterial is obtained from the particular interaction of elastin-solubilized peptides with type I + III collagens under very precise conditions. We have obtained an irreversible covalent bonding on Dacron®. These biological conditions and the addition of connective proteins and glycosaminoglycans conferred on the resulting material a composition and a three-dimensional structure equivalent to the subendothelium, providing bioactive properties suitable for the development of a vascular prosthesis.