Impact of Crosslinking on the Properties of Decellularized Caprine Pericardium

Abstract

Glutaraldehyde is preferred for preparing bioprosthetic heart valves to mask the xenograft's antigenicity and provide mechanical support to the extracellular matrix scaffold. However, it has been shown to be highly toxic to the cells. Curcumin has been used as a substitute for glutaraldehyde due to its high anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. In this investigation, the impact of crosslinking on the properties of decellularized caprine pericardium was studied. Caprine pericardia were decellularized using sodium dodecyl sulphate and triton-X-100. Curcumin was used to crosslink the sample, and its characteristics were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and biomechanical assays. Swelling study of the scaffold and degradation of the scaffold under collagenase and trypsin enzyme was performed for 32 hours. Biocompatibility and hemocompatibility studies for the scaffold were also investigated. The curcumin crosslinked scaffolds showed biocompatibility and hemocompatibility, indicating their adaptability with the native cell population. The swelling degree for curcumin crosslinked tissues was 189.6±47.28% after 480 minutes of study, and a change in the ultimate tensile strength was also observed between the non-crosslinked and crosslinked biohybrid scaffolds. Degradation of the scaffold under trypsin enzyme showed that curcumin crosslinking lowers the degradation activity of the enzyme on the scaffold. The curcumin-based scaffold is suitable for tissue engineering applications.