MEW/PVA‐MA Hydrogel Vascular Grafts: Enhancing Hemocompatibility and Endothelialization

Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of global mortality, necessitating advancements in vascular graft technologies, particularly for small‐diameter grafts. This study presents a novel biomimetic approach to address these issues by combining polyvinyl alcohol methacrylate (PVA‐MA)‐based hydrogels with melt‐electrowritten (MEW) scaffolds, creating an off‐the‐shelf, customizable platform for vascular graft applications where the hydrogels offer potential as extracellular matrix for cell attachment and growth while the MEW scaffolds provide mechanical reinforcement. Here, the PVA‐MA hydrogel is biofunctionalized with heparin‐methacrylate (Hep‐MA) and gelatin‐methacrylate (Gel‐MA) for enhanced hemocompatibility and endothelialization, respectively. Four hydrogel formulations, PVA‐MA (P10), PVA‐MA with 5% (wt/v) Gel‐MA (P10‐G5), PVA‐MA with 0.5% (wt/v) Hep‐MA (P10‐H0.5), and their combination (P10‐G5‐H0.5), are fabricated and characterized. Acute biological responses relevant to vascular graft performance are evaluated in this study. Gelatin and heparin both remain biofunctional post the methacrylation and copolymerization processes while the presence of MEW scaffolds does not affect the biological interactions. P10‐G5‐H0.5 exhibits prolonged clotting times, minimal thrombus formation, and enhanced endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation. The tubular scaffolds support confluent endothelial layers in 3D culture, showcasing their potential for vascular graft applications. These findings demonstrate the promise of combining biological functionality with mechanical reinforcement to develop next‐generation off‐the‐shelf vascular grafts.