[Effect of preparation conditions for small-diameter artificial polyurethane vascular graft on microstructure and mechanical properties].

To study the effect of preparation conditions for small-diameter polyurethane(PU) vascular graft on microstructure and mechanical properties.The small-diameter microporous PU artificial vascular grafts were prepared by dipping and leaching method. The dimension and microstructure were controlled by changing mold diameter, PU materials, salt sizes, salt to polymer ratio, times of dipping layers etc. The mechanical properties of PU grafts including radical compliance, water permeability, longitudinal strength, burst strength, and suture tearing strength were measured and the effect of the graft dimension and microstructure on their properties were studied.The internal diameter of grafts prepared was 2-4 mm depending on mold diameter. The wall thickness was 0.6-1.2 mm after dipping 4-8 layers. The density was 0.23-0.49 g/cm3. The pore was 42-95 microm in diameter. The porosity was 56%-80%. The radical compliance was 1.2%-7.4% x 13.3 kPa(-1) and higher compliances could be obtained by using more elastic polyurethane, higher salt to polymer ratio, longer diameter and less wall thickness. The water permeability, mainly depending on salt to polymer ratio, diameter, and wall thickness, was 0.29-12.44 g/(cm2 x min). The longitudinal strength was 1.55-4.36 MPa correlating with tensile strength of polyurethane and salt to polymer ratio. The burst strength was 60-300 kPa also depending on tensile strength of polyurethane and salt to polymer ratio. The suture tearing strength was 19.5-96.2 N/cm2 depending on tensile strength of polyurethane but not on the angle of tearing and graft axial directions. The compliance and water permeability of Chronoflex grafts were higher than those of PCU-1500 grafts, but longitudinal strength, burst strength, and suture tearing strength of PCU-1500 grafts were better than those of Chronoflex grafts. Conclusion Small-diameter grafts with proper pore sizes, porosity, matching compliance can be obtained by selecting PU materials and optimizing the preparation conditions.