Freeze-dried heart valve scaffolds

Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2012 Jul;18(7):517-25. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEC.2011.0398. Epub 2012 Feb 24.

Abstract

In this study, structure and biomechanical properties of freeze-dried decellularized porcine pulmonary heart valves were investigated. Heart valves were dissected from porcine hearts. The tissues were decellularized and separated in three groups: (1) without lyoprotectant, (2) with 5% sucrose, and (3) with a mixture of 2.5% sucrose and 2.5% hydroxyl ethylene starch (HES), and then underwent freeze-drying. Freeze-drying in the absence of lyoprotectants caused an overall more disintegrated appearance of the histological architecture of the porcine valves, especially between the fibrosa and the ventricularis layers. Freeze-dried tissues with lyoprotectants have a looser network of collagen and elastic fibers with bigger pore sizes. Tissue freeze-dried in the absence of lyoprotecants had the largest pore sizes, whereas the tissue freeze-dried in the presence of protectants showed pores of intermediate sizes between the decellularized tissue and the unprotected freeze-dried samples. Tissue freeze-dried with sucrose alone displayed less porosity than tissue freeze-dried with the sucrose/HES mixture, whereas no significant differences in biomechanical properties were observed. Decellularization decreased the elastic modulus of artery tissue. The elastic modulus of freeze-dried tissue without protectants resembled that of decellularized tissue. The elastic modulus values of freeze-dried tissue stabilized by lyoprotectants were greater than those of decellularized tissue, but similar to those of native tissue.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Elastic Modulus
  • Freeze Drying / methods*
  • Heart Valves / cytology*
  • Heart Valves / physiology*
  • Porosity
  • Pulmonary Valve / cytology*
  • Pulmonary Valve / physiology*
  • Swine
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*
  • Tissue Scaffolds*