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Crosslinking of biological tissues using genipin and/or carbodiimide
Author(s) -
Sung HsingWen,
Chang WenHisang,
Ma ChiunYuang,
Lee MengHorng
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.10346
Subject(s) - genipin , carbodiimide , materials science , mechanical strength , biomaterial , biophysics , ultimate tensile strength , biochemistry , chemistry , polymer chemistry , composite material , biology , nanotechnology , chitosan
The study was to investigate the crosslinking characteristics, mechanical properties, and resistance against enzymatic degradation of biological tissues after fixation with genipin (a naturally occurring crosslinking agent) and/or carbodiimide. Fresh tissue was used as a control. It was found that both genipin and carbodiimide are effective crosslinking agents for tissue fixation and genipin crosslinking is comparatively slower than carbodiimide crosslinking. Additionally, tissue fixation in genipin and/or carbodiimide may produce distinct crosslinking structures. Carbodiimide may form intrahelical and interhelical crosslinks within or between tropocollagen molecules, whereas genipin may further introduce intermicrofibrillar crosslinks between adjacent collagen microfibrils. The stability (denaturation temperature and resistance against enzymatic degradation) of the fixed tissue is mainly determined by its intrahelical and interhelical crosslinks. In contrast, intermicrofibrillar crosslinks significantly affect the mechanical properties (tissue shrinkage during fixation, tensile strength, strain at break, and ruptured pattern) of the fixed tissue. Moreover, the degree of enzymatic degradation of the fixed tissue may be influenced by three factors: the availability, to the enzyme, of recognizable cleavage sites, the degree of crosslinking, and the extent of helical integrity of tropocollagen molecules in tissue. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 64A: 427–438, 2003