A bioprosthetic heart valve prepared by copolymerization of 2-isocyana- toethyl methacrylate modified pericardium and functional monomer

Bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs), mostly fabricated from glutaraldehyde crosslinked porcine or bovine pericardium, have been increasingly used in clinic with the application of transcatheter aortic valve replacement surgery. However, several drawbacks of glutaraldehyde crosslinked BHVs including poor cytocompatibility, thrombosis and calcification might lead to dysfunction and structural valvular degeneration (SVD) of BHVs. Here, we developed a glutaraldehyde-free crosslinking method in which the porcine pericardium was treated with 2-isocyanatoethyl methacrylate (ICM) to introduce methacrylate groups and subsequently copolymerized with crosslinker, poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDA), to prepare a PEGDA polymer crosslinked porcine pericardium (PICM-PEGDA-PP). The PICM-PEGDA-PP exhibited improved cytocompatibility, stability, mechanical properties and anticalcification property compared with glutaraldehyde crosslinked porcine pericardium (GA-PP). Owing to the introduction of PEGDA polymers, PICM-PEGDA-PP exhibited lower adsorption of proteins, platelets and blood cells as well as significant antithrombotic performance. Furthermore, the hydrodynamic performance and durability of PICM-PEGDA-PP were proved to meet the requirements of ISO 5840-3 for BHVs. These results indicated that the component stabilization and antithrombic functionalization of BHVs can be achieved by the proposed glutaraldehyde-free crosslinking method and PICM-PEGDA-PP is expected to be developed into a potential alternative for glutaraldehyde crosslinked BHVs clinically in the future.

Automated summary

This study developed a new glutaraldehyde-free crosslinking method to prepare a poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDA) polymer crosslinked porcine pericardium (PICM-PEGDA-PP) with improved cytocompatibility, stability, mechanical properties, and anticalcification property compared to glutaraldehyde crosslinked porcine pericardium (GA-PP). The PICM-PEGDA-PP demonstrated low protein, platelet, and blood cell adsorption as well as significant antithrombotic performance. It meets the requirements for BHVs according to ISO 5840-3 and has the potential to be a clinical alternative for glutaraldehyde crosslinked BHVs in the future.