CALCIFICATION OF SOFT-TISSUE EMPLOYED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HEART-VALVE PROSTHESES - STUDY OF DIFFERENT CHEMICAL TREATMENTS

Biological heart prostheses present medium and long-term problems, owing to progressive deterioration and calcification of the tissue. To study the latter problem, we compared the effectiveness of anticalcification treatments in calf pericardium samples implanted into female Wistar rats after the following procedures: group I, control group (glutaraldehyde 0.2%); group II, proteoglycans group, group III, control group (glutaraldehyde 0.625%); groups IV and V, subjected to lipid removal with chloroform/methanol and SDS; group VI, pericardial tissue treated with 0.1 M Al3+ for 24 h; and group VII, chemical treatment with 0.1 M La3+ for 24 h. Positive results were obtained with lipid removal and chemical treatment with Al3+. The selective extraction of proteoglycans resulted in considerable accumulation of calcium salts in the tissue.