Work

Evaluation of a novel 4-day decellularisation protocol for porcine flexor tendons: A comparative study with a 26-day process

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament is a common sports-related injury that lacks intrinsic healing capacity, often necessitating surgical intervention. Our group has developed a new graft biomaterial, the decellularised porcine super flexor tendon (pSFT), designed to mitigate immune rejection post-implantation by removing cellular components. The current 26-day decellularisation process attenuates the mechanical properties of the graft, potentially disrupting the structural micro-cues that influence cell repopulation and integration. This study investigates a shortened 4-day protocol to determine whether mechanical properties are preserved more closely to native, unprocessed tissue. Histological analysis and DNA quantification confirmed effective cell removal for both the 26-day and 4-day protocols. Native, 26-day processed, and 4-day processed grafts were mechanically evaluated through stress relaxation and failure testing. Following stress relaxation testing, several Maxwell-Weichert viscoelastic parameters were found to significantly differ between 26-day and native groups (E 0 , E 1 , E 2 &τ 2 ) , whereas between 4-day and native groups fewer significant differences were found (E 1 &E 2 ). Following failure testing, again several parameters were found to significantly differ between 26-day and native groups (P FAIL , UTS, E linear and ε T ), whereas between 4-day and native groups only one parameter was significantly different (E linear ). These findings indicate that the 4-day decellularisation process better preserves the native tissue mechanical properties, potentially reducing structural alterations and improving suitability for anterior cruciate ligament replacement. • Novel 4-day decellularisation process for porcine flexor tendon was investigated • 4-day process was compared to existing 26-day process and native unprocessed controls • Histology and DNA quantification demonstrated decellularision with 4-day process • Biomechanical properties were less affected by the 4-day process • Novel 4-day process better maintained native tendon properties than existing process

Source: Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials/Journal of mechanical behavior of biomedical materials

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107318

Authors: Victoria Haines, Jennifer Helen Edwards, Anthony Herbert

Institution: University of Leeds

Language: English

Topic: Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Subfield: Surgery

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,690