SILKELASTOGRAFT is a project funded in the framework of the Joint grant or the “translational research in the Advanced Material area” promoted by Cariplo Foundation and the Lombardy region.

SILKELASTOGRAFT aims at developing an off-the-shelf vascular substitute to be employed as hemodialysis vascular access or for revascularization of small-caliber vessels (e.g. coronary or peripheral arteries). A valuable and durable vascular access is still a holy grail for vascular surgeons, for nephrologists and for the nearly 2.2 million hemodialytic patients worldwide, that depend on this life-saving and life-sustaining therapy to meet the needs of daily life. Currently, it is estimated that the number of patients on hemodialysis is growing by 4 to 8% yearly, and diabetes mellitus is considered as one of the major causes thereof.

To realize this ambitious program SILKOELASTOGRAFT will use an innovative material, Silkothane®, which combine the silk fibroin, a natural and biodegradable material with a non-degradable medical grade polyurethane. By modulating the composition of the material Silkothane® allows for the production of semi degradable substrates with tailored mechanical properties for the endogenous tissue regeneration.

Thanks to these properties SILKOELASTOGRAFT will provide 1) an innovative product with tailored compliance matching hemodialysis vascular access; 2) a novel integrated methodological approach to graft design, based on the combination of in vitro-in vivo-in silico tools; 3) the technological platform based on the advanced material Silkothane®, that enables the manufacturing of scaffolds with patient-specific mechanical properties.

SILKELASTOGRAFT is proposed by a multisectoral and multidisciplinary team composed by the Biomechanics Research Group o Politecnico di Milanio University, the largest technical university in Italy, Bioengineering Laboratories, an innovation-driven small company active in the field of disposable medical devices and IRFMN-lIstituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, a national institute of excellence (IRCCS) with biological and pharmaceutical background.