Preparation of AgGa0.2In0.8Se2 doped polyhydroxyalkanoate nanofibers for production of electrospinning engineered vascular grafts

In the thesis study, Poly(-3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-3-Hydroxyhexanoate) (P(3HB-co-3HHx)) polymer was synthesized. Unlike the literature, AgGa0.2In0.8Se2 compound, which will be doped to add conductivity to the polymer, was synthesized for the first time in this study by thermal evaporation method and its structure was elucidated using FT-IR and XRD techniques. From the XRD powder pattern, it was determined that AgGa0.2In0.8Se2 compound with PDF number 00-035-1098 crystallized in the tetragonal system and had I-42d(122) symmetry. P(3HB-co-3HHx), AgGa0.2In0.8Se2 and VEGF growth factor were used as starting materials and doped and undoped vascular graft templates with 6 mm diameter cylindrical geometry were produced by electrospinning technique. Characterization of the synthesized polymer and vascular graft templates was performed using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TG/DTA/DTG and DSC analysis techniques. 1H-NMR spectrometry was also used for the characterization of the polymer. In SEM micrographs, it was observed that while the undoped vascular graft templates contained fibers with a diameter of 20-30 µm, the doped vascular graft templates formed as a film. Vascular graft templates prepared from P(3HB-co-3HHx), a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer, may be a suitable alternative to be used in cardiovascular surgery.