[Evaluation of bovine pericardium performance after liquid nitrogen freezing and thinning]

In the present study, the performance of the liquid nitrogen frozen and thinned bovine pericardium was studied and compared with the porcine pericardium. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the bovine pericardium were observed and tested by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and tensile test respectively. In all conditions, porcine pericardium was selected as a control group. The results showed that there was little difference in the performance of bovine pericardium after being frozen by liquid nitrogen. The secant modulus and ultimate strength of the thinned bovine pericardium were similar to those of porcine pericardium, however, the elastic modulus was a little higher than porcine pericardium. The study suggested that the performance of the thinned bovine pericardium was similar to those of porcine pericardium. It was easy for the thinned bovine pericardium to obtain a relatively ideal thickness and expected performance, therefore, the thinned bovine pericardium can be used as the materials of transcatheter aortic valve leaflets.