Calcification-resistant fixation
AssigneeBiomedical Design, Inc.
InventorsJean-Marie Girardot, Marie-Nadia Girardot
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Non-glutaraldehyde fixation of an organ or a prosthesis for implantation in a mammal is based upon carbodiimide treatment. An aqueous solution containing a coupling agent, such as EDC, in combination with a coupling enhancer, such as sulfo-NHS, and a high concentration of a diamine cross-linking agent is used. As a result, only minimal surface reduction occurs during fixation, and the resultant products show a dramatic increase in resistance to calcification.
Claims16
A process of fixing animal tissue to render it suitable for implantation in living mammals, which process comprises
- treating said animal tissue with an effective amount of a coupling agent which promotes the formation of amide bonds between reactive carboxyl moieties and reactive amino moieties, in combination with a coupling enhancer, and with a cross-linking agent containing at least two reactive amine moieties,
- said cross-linking agent containing at least two reactive amine moieties and being present in an amount of at least about 80 millimolar, and said treatment being carried out in a manner which results in the formation of amidated links between said cross-linking agent and reactive moieties carried by the molecules of said animal tissue,
- whereby said tissue is rendered resistant to protease digestion while incurring only minimal surface reduction during fixation and whereby the fixed tissue is highly resistant to calcification.
A process of fixing fresh animal tissue to render it suitable for implantation in living mammals, which process comprises
- washing but not otherwise altering fresh tissue excised from a donor animal,
- treating said washed animal tissue with an effective amount of a cross-linking agent containing at least two reactive amine moieties and with a coupling agent, in combination with a coupling enhancer, which promotes the formation of amide bonds between reactive carboxyl moieties and reactive amino moieties,
- said cross-linking agent containing at least two reactive amine moieties and being present in an amount of at least about 80 millimolar, and said treatment being carried out in a manner which results in the formation of amidated links between said cross-linking agent and reactive moieties carried by the molecules of said animal tissue,
- whereby said tissue is rendered resistant to protease digestion while incurring only minimal surface reduction during fixation and whereby the fixed tissue is highly resistant to calcification.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.