Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Effect Of Applied Uniaxial Stress On Rate And Mechanical Effects Of Cross-Linking In Tissue-Derived Biomaterials, Debbie Chachra, Paul Gratzer, Christopher Pereira, J. Lee

Debbie Chachra

Conformational changes in collagen fibrils, and indeed the triple helix, can be produced by application of mechanical stress or strain. We have demonstrated that the rate of cross-linking in glutaraldehyde and epoxide homobifunctional reagents can be modulated by uniaxial stress (strain). Two poly(glycidyl ether) epoxides were used: Denacol^® EX-810 (a small bifunctional reagent), and Denacol EX-512 (a large polyfunctional reagent). To prevent any possible effect from being masked by saturation of cross-linking sites, bovine pericardium was cross-linked to such an extent that the increase in collagen denaturation temperature, T_d, was one-half of the maximal rise achievable with …