The effects of heating on the mechanical properties of arterial elastin

Autoclaving is a standard way of purifying arterial elastin for mechanical testing, but recent evidence suggests that heating native elastin might affect its mechanical behavior. We therefore examined the quasi-static tensile properties of pig arterial tissue to see if the mechanical properties of native elastin are altered by autoclaving. From an analysis of the shapes of the stress-extension ratio curves of tissues before and after 8 h of autoclaving, we determined that the mechanical characteristics of elastin dominated the behavior of unautoclaved arterial tissue at wall stresses around 25+/-5 kPa. Autoclaving did not change the tangential modulus of the tissue at this wall stress (+/-4% 95% CI), indicating that elastin can be heated during purification without affecting its mechanical behavior. Autoclaved tissue was tested daily to determine the effects of prolonged heating of autoclaved elastin. Between tests the elastin was incubated at either 80 degrees C (experimental group) or 37 degrees C (control group). After 6 days the average modulus of the control group was unchanged from the initial value, while the average modulus of the experimental group was 7%+/-2% (95% CI) lower. At shorter times the modulus of the experimental group was not significantly reduced. The slight decrease in modulus suggests a slow chemical degradation may occur with prolonged heating, but its time course and magnitude are such that it would not affect standard mechanical tests.