Stress strain characteristics of glutaraldehyde treated porcine aortic valve tissue following ethanol treatment

Abstract

Background Glutaraldehyde treatment of heterologous tissue valves is necessary to improve their durability. Anti-calcification treatment is required following glutaraldehyde fixation for tissue valves, to prevent bioprosthetic valve dysfunction due to degenerative changes. One of the simpler anti-calcification strategies utilises ethyl alcohol, and this has been shown to be highly effective. However, whether this treatment has an effect on the physical characteristics has not been studied. Present study was planned to evaluate the physical characteristics of the porcine aortic valve cusps using a Shimadzu AGS 500 G stress/strain tester.