Mechanical Properties of Xenograft Used for a Scaffold for Regeneration of Blood Vessels

Abstract

To develop small-diameter vascular grafts with high anti-thrombogenicity and the ability to grow, we prepared heparinized acellular matrices (HEPARINs) made from detergent-treated porcine carotid arteries. In this study, the mechanical properties of HEPARIN as well as the acellular matrix before heparinization (ACM) were investigated under uniaxial and biaxial deformation. The values of the initial Young's Modulus (E₀) and tangent Modulus (E_t) obtained by uniaxial elongation for the ACM were almost identical to those for a fresh porcine carotid artery (FRESH), but HEPARIN showed higher values than FRESH for the two mechanical parameters. The pressure at burst for ACM estimated by biaxial deformation was lower than the other samples, but was still much higher than the normal blood pressure. It was shown that HEPARIN is one of the promising materials as a scaffold for regeneration of blood vessels as long as mechanical properties are concerned.