Abstract: Objective To prepare the acellular carotid artery of adult pig using biotic enzymes for small-diameter vascular tissue-engineering scaffold.Methods Carotid artery of adult pig was removed cells by using Trypsin/EDTA,ribonuclease and desoxyribonuclease.Residual cellular composition was studied with quantitative DNA analysis and the Hematoxylin and Eosin(H&E)staining.Extracellular matrix composition was evaluated with elastin van Gieson's(VG)staining and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Results Quantitative DNA analysis and H&E staining confirmed that carotid arteries were completely decellularized.Elastin van Gieson's staining demonstrated that elastin morphology appeared unchanged.Scanning electron microscopy examination of the acellular scaffolds revealed a well-oriented porous decellularized structure that maintained natural architecture of the aorta.Conclusion Carotid artery of adult pig rendered acellular with Trypsin/EDTA,ribonuclease and desoxyribonuclease has well-preserved extracellular matrix for vascular scaffold,which can be used as a scaffold for further small-diameter vascular tissue engineering.

Key words: tissue engineering, vascular graft, scaffold, extracellular matrix, decellularization