TISSUE ENGINEERED BLOOD VESSELS

1 . A tubular construct for a tissue engineered blood vessel comprising:

an inner braided mesh tube having an inner surface and an outer surface,

a melt blown non-woven sheet on the outer surface of the inner braided mesh tube, and

an outer braided mesh tube on the melt blown sheet.

2 . The tubular construct of claim 1 wherein the melt blown non-woven sheet comprises a semi-crystalline, synthetic, absorbable polymer.

3 . The tubular construct of claim 2 wherein the polymer has an inherent viscosity between 0.5 and 2.0 dL/g, a glass transition temperature below 25° C., and a total absorption time between 6 and 24 months.

4 . The tubular construct of claim 2 wherein the melt blown non-woven sheet comprises copolymers of lactone monomers selected from the group comprising p-dioxanone and epsilon-caprolactone.

5 . The tubular construct of claim 4 wherein the copolymer consists of 1 to 20 mole percent of p-dioxanone.

6 . The tubular construct of claim 4 wherein the copolymer consists of 85 to 99 mole percent of p-dioxanone.

7 . The tubular construct of claim 1 wherein the melt blown non-woven sheet is seeded with cells.

8 . The tubular construct of claim 7 wherein the cells are selected from the group consisting of smooth muscle cells, human umbilical cord derived cells, mammary artery derived cells, and combinations thereof.

9 . A method of making a tissue engineered blood vessel comprising the steps of:

Providing a first braided mesh tube;

Placing the first braided mesh tube on a mandrel;

Providing a melt blown non-woven sheet;

Rolling the melt blown non-woven sheet on the first braided mesh tube;

Providing a second braided mesh tube; and

Slipping the second braided mesh tube over the rolled melt blown non-woven sheet to form a tubular structure.

10 . The method of claim 9 further comprising seeding said melt blown sheet with cells.

11 . The method of claim 9 further comprising culturing the tubular structure in a bioreactor.