SEDL / STP / STP1173-EB / STP18091S

High Strain Rate Testing and Structural Analysis of Pericardial Bioprosthetic Materials

Lee, JM
Associate professor, tissue mechanics technician, and Ph.D candidate, Centre for Biomaterials, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Haberer, SA
Applications engineer, Instron Canada, Burlington, Ontario

Pereira, CA
Associate professor, tissue mechanics technician, and Ph.D candidate, Centre for Biomaterials, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Naimark, WA
Associate professor, tissue mechanics technician, and Ph.D candidate, Centre for Biomaterials, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Courtman, DW
Ph.D candidate, University of Toronto, Conacher Research Wing, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario

Wilson, GJ
Professor and senior staff pathologist, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario

Pages: 24    Published: Jan 1994

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Abstract

Characterization of the viscoelastic behavior of pencardial biomatenals for heart valve or patching applications demands testing under loading times or frequencies typical of those that occur in physiological function or in a bioprosthetic device We have used a servo-hydraulic testing system to evaluate the behavior of these materials under loading times as low as 0.05 s, frequencies up to 10 Hz and strain rates exceeding 24 000 %/min Mechanical tests included large deformation cyclic loading, stress relaxation experiments, and small deformation forced vibration This paper reviews our expenence with these tests, interpreted using results from collagen denaturation temperature testing and biochemical analysis, in three distinct studies: (1) examination of the effects of glutaraldehyde, poly (glycidyl ether) (a diepoxide compound), and cyanamide on bovine pericardium, (2) comparison of bovine and porcine pericardia, and (3) evaluation of the effects of extraction of cellular components from bovine pericardium These tools provide better means toward understanding the viscoelastic properties of these materials and the structural/functional relationships that determine those properties.