CROSS-LINKING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EPOXY-FIXED PORCINE TENDON - EFFECTS OF PH, TEMPERATURE, AND FIXATIVE CONCENTRATION

Injury to the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) often results in functio nal instability within the knee joint and may induce a severe articula r deterioration. Clinically, these patients may require an ACL reconst ruction. In an attempt to develop an improved ligament prosthesis, a p rototype xenograft - an epoxy-fixed porcine Achilles tendon - was deve loped. The study was intended to investigate the crosslinking characte ristics of the epoxy-fixed porcine tendons fixed at different pHs (4.0 , 7.4, 9.0, and 10.5), temperatures (4, 25, and 37 degrees C), and fix ative concentrations (1, 2, or 4%). Samples of each group were taken o ut at various elapsed fixation periods. The crosslinking characteristi cs-fixation index, denaturation temperature, and moisture content - of each sample were determined. Additionally, the stiffness of the epoxy -fixed tendons under various fixation conditions was qualitatively com pared. Ln the study it was noted that the color of porcine Achilles te ndons remained natural after epoxy fixation. With increasing pH, tempe rature, or fixative concentration, the fixation indices and denaturati on temperatures of the epoxy-fixed tendons increased. However, the fix ed porcine tendons tended to be stiffer at a higher pH, temperature, o r fixative concentration. The moisture contents of the epoxy-fixed ten dons were relatively lower than the fresh ones, while they were approx imately the same at different pHs, temperatures, and fixative concentr ations. The implications of these findings for the epoxy-fixed porcine tendons in ACL reconstruction require further investigation. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.