Dimethyl suberimidate cross-linked pericardium tissue : Raman spectroscopic and atomic force microscopy investigations

Abstract Chemically stabilized pericardium tissue is widely used as a tissue-derived biomaterial for the preparation of bioprostheses such as heart valves or vascular grafts. The bifunctional imidoester dimethyl suberimidate (DMS) belongs to the wide class of the cross-linking reagents and is often used to cross-link a variety of proteins, including collagen matrices and collagen-based tissues. Raman spectroscopy in the wide frequency range 200–4000 cm −1 and contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been employed to investigate the structural changes and chemical bonds in DMS cross-linked porcine pericardium tissue. It has been found, that in addition to the commonly accepted reaction with the e-amine groups of lysine or hydroxylysine residues, DMS may interact also with the carbonyl CO and amide NH groups of the peptide bond in collagen. Our paper presents for the first time spectral evidence for the peptide contribution to the formation of DMS–collagen cross-links. The results confirm also possible competition between the hydrolysis of the free imidoester group and cross-linking reaction. Products of the partial alkaline hydrolysis of DMS have been found in the spectra. The observed changes in the surface topography of the fibrils as well as in their spatial organization in the tissue support the formation of both intra- and interfibrillar cross-links in DMS-stabilized tissue.