| NUKLEONIKA 2013, 58(4):511-517
RADIOISOTOPIC INVESTIGATION OF CROSSLINKING DENSITY
IN BOVINE PERICARDIUM USED AS A BIOMATERIAL
Artur Turek1,2, Beata Cwalina3, Magdalena Kobielarz4
1 Department of Biopharmacy, Medical University of Silesia,
1 Narcyzów Str., 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
2 Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences,
34 M. Curie-Skłodowskiej Str., 41-819 Zabrze, Poland
3 Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Silesian University of Technology,
2 Akademicka Str., 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
4 Division of Biomedical Engineering
and Experimental Mechanics,
Wrocław University of Technology,
7/9 Łukasiewicza Str., 50-371 Wrocław, Poland
Stabilized bovine pericardium (BP) belongs to tissues routinely applied in production of heart valves. Commercial products are manufactured from tissues crosslinked by glutaraldehyde (GA). Dye-mediated photooxidation was also proposed as an alternative method, which allows for the elimination of clinical failures of GA-treated tissues. The aim of the study was to investigate the density of BP stabilized by GA and the methylene blue-mediated photooxidation, as compared with a native tissue. Crosslinking density was evaluated based on their ability to accumulate radioactive cobalt ions (60Co2+) and the permeability to these ions. Radioactivity was examined using a gamma-spectrophotometer (Packard). The results showed the changes in the crosslinking density between the native tissues and photooxidized or GA-crosslinked tissues. Significant decreases in radioactivity were detected only in the thinnest tissues after photooxidation and in filtrates penetrating the same samples. Photooxidized pericardium of a larger thickness did not reveal any significant changes. Weight-dependence for the permeability was observed in the case of filtrates penetrating the GA-treated tissues. However, 60Co2+-accumulation in these samples remained at the same level. Photooxidation may lead to obtaining biomaterials with advantageous properties, i.e. a decreased calcium-binding capacity. Photooxidation efficiencies were dependent both on compactness and thickness of tissues and on process duration. It should be emphasized that the tissues’ structure after photooxidation was characterized by lower density. This may point to
the presence of crosslinks of a smaller compactness in comparison with GA treatment. It has been shown that the factor indeed influencing the result of crosslinking is tissue thickness.
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