• Evaluation of a novel 4-day de...

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

Title:
Evaluation of a novel 4-day decellularisation protocol for porcine flexor tendons: A comparative study with a 26-day process.
Authors:
Haines V; Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom; Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. Electronic address: mn22vkhw@leeds.ac.uk., Edwards JH; Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. Electronic address: J.H.Edwards@leeds.ac.uk., Herbert A; Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.herbert@leeds.ac.uk.
Source:
Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials [J Mech Behav Biomed Mater] 2026 Mar; Vol. 175, pp. 107318. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Dec 19.
Publication Type:
Journal Article; Comparative Study
Language:
English
Journal Info:
Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 101322406 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-0180 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 18780180 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Mech Behav Biomed Mater Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s):
Original Publication: Amsterdam : Elsevier
MeSH Terms:
Tendons*/cytology , Tissue Engineering*/methods , Mechanical Phenomena*, Animals ; Swine ; Materials Testing ; Time Factors ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Stress, Mechanical ; Tissue Scaffolds/chemistry
Contributed Indexing:
Keywords: Anterior cruciate ligament; Biomechanics; Decellularisation; Tendon; Tissue engineering
Entry Date(s):
Date Created: 20251226 Date Completed: 20260114 Latest Revision: 20260114
Update Code:
20260119
DOI:
10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107318
PMID:
41453233
Database:
MEDLINE

Further information

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 <subscript>0</subscript> , E <subscript>1</subscript> , E <subscript>2</subscript> & τ <subscript>2</subscript> ), whereas between 4-day and native groups fewer significant differences were found (E <subscript>1</subscript> & E <subscript>2</subscript> ). Following failure testing, again several parameters were found to significantly differ between 26-day and native groups (P <subscript>FAIL</subscript> , UTS, E <subscript>linear</subscript> and ε <subscript>T</subscript> ), whereas between 4-day and native groups only one parameter was significantly different (E <subscript>linear</subscript> ). 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.
(Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.