The impact of sterilization upon extracellular matrix hydrogel structure and function

The impact of decellularization methods on extracellular matrix derived hydrogels

“…However, for clinical purposes authorities may require terminal sterilization. It has been shown that common sterilization techniques such as electron beam, gamma irradiation or ethylene oxide inhibit gel formation when performed on the powder, but not when the lyophilized digest is treated 12 . Furthermore, sterilizing the lyophilized digest could increase the likelihood of translation into the clinic as a ready-to-use product, whereby the clinician can rehydrate the lyophilize digest with a basic salt balanced solution and let the hydrogel form in situ .…”

“…Many methods have been examined for performing decellularization and these can be divided into three main categories: physical, chemical and biological 2 . Physical methods include freeze-thawing cycles 3–6 , high hydrostatic pressure 7–9 or supercritical CO 2 10–12 . Chemical agents can involve ionic detergents, such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) 13,14 or sodium deoxycholate 15 ; non-ionic detergents, such as Triton X-100 16 ; hypertonic or hypotonic salt solutions, such as sodium chloride 17,18 ; and acids and bases, such as peracetic acid 19 or ammonium hydroxide 20 .…”

Tissue-Specific Decellularization Methods: Rationale and Strategies to Achieve Regenerative Compounds

“…On the other hand, gamma-irradiation is the preferred sterilization method for many pharmaceutical and clinical products, due to its high penetration, good assurance of sterilization, and feasible temperature during the sterilization process. Conversely, radiation may affect structural proteins such as collagen, reducing the strength of the treated material [64][65][66]. Therefore, gamma-irradiation is often selected as the sterilization method for dECM products, but the irradiation dosage has to be optimized for each specific case, and the properties must be assessed after treatment.…”

“…Chemical methods are also useful to sterilize dECM materials, and are an alternative to physical methods. Ozone and hydrogen peroxide are traditional sterilization gases, but ethylene oxide is more commonly used in a dECM context, as the ultrastructure and the mechanical properties of the dECM are usually not altered under such treatment [64,67]. After the sterilization process, it is important to ensure the elimination of residual sterilizing agents and other possible volatile residues.…”

Degradation studies of a commercial radiation‐resistant polypropylene sterilized by gamma and electron beam technology before and after subsequent accelerated aging cycles

“…However, gamma sterilization today accounts for more than 85% in the radiation sterilization market and concerns about a continuous Co 60 supply in the future electron beam sterilization technology are becoming more attractive . Therefore, studying the different radiation sterilization methods on decontamination effectiveness as well as on material level is still of high interest in current literature.…”