Mechanical Response of the Cross-Linked Pericardial Tissue

The significance of studying of human pericardial mechanics arises from a wide range of possible applications. For instance, tissue engineers study potential use of a human pericardium in a design of homograft valve bioprosthesis. In cooperation with the Institute of the Physiology of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, human pericardium tissue has been modified by different cross-linking agents. The function and performance of the potential future bioprostheses depends closely on sources material. Thus characterization of the mechanical properties of the human pericardial tissue is an important problem. Several samples of pericardial tissue as well as cross-linked tissue underwent uniaxial loading and unloading. Their nonlinear mechanical response was modeled using hyperelastic theory, assuming incompressible isotropic deformation. Considering future possible tissue application, mechanical properties of the material under stress corresponding to the loading in aortic valve were evaluated.