Arterial bypass procedures are limited by the availability of a vascular conduit, such as internal mammary artery or saphenous vein.
Synthetic conduits made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) suffer from unacceptably high rates of thrombosis in small caliber grafts due to their lack of an adherent, quiescent endothelium.