Materials Sciences and Applications, 2017, 8, 873-888 http://www.scirp.org/journal/msa ISSN Online: 2153-1188 ISSN Print: 2153-117X DOI: 10.4236/msa.2017.812064 Nov. 10, 2017 873 Materials Sciences and Applications Biochemical, Biophysical and Mechanical Characterization of Decellularized Dermal Implants Frederick H. Silver 1 , Dale DeVore 2 , Ruchit Shah 3 1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA 2 DV Consulting Services, Chelmsford, MA, USA 3 Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA Abstract Allografts have been used in a variety of applications to augment as well as re- place tissues throughout the body. A number of steps are involved in selec- tion, harvesting, processing and testing of dermal allografts. Grafts can be ob- tained that are: free of antibodies to viruses and low in viral titers. Cellular material can be eliminated from the tissue and the product becomes almost exclusively a collagen fiber network. The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in collagen structure and properties that occur during processing of decellularized dermis. The results indicate that collagen fiber swelling oc- curs during processing although the product preserves the native collagen banding pattern at the fibrillar structural level. Fiber swelling and decreased collagen deformability of processed dermis, may lead to stress concentration at the implant-tissue interface and up-regulation of mechanotransduction. This may lead to premature mechanical failure due to creation of a chronic inflammatory condition at the implant-tissue interface. It is suggested that all dermal allografts be oriented such that Langer’s lines of the implant match those of the host tissue, and that wound closure by suturing be done under conditions that preserve the normal tension in skin in order to minimize im- plant-interfacial failure. Keywords Collagen, Dermis, Repair, Wound Healing, Optical Coherence Tomography, Vibrational Analysis, Resonant Frequency, Modulus, Langer’s Lines, Mechanotransduction How to cite this paper: Silver, F.H., De- Vore, D. and Shah, R. (2017) Biochemical, Biophysical and Mechanical Characteriza- tion of Decellularized Dermal Implants. Materials Sciences and Applications, 8, 873-888. https://doi.org/10.4236/msa.2017.812064 Received: August 8, 2017 Accepted: November 7, 2017 Published: November 10, 2017 Copyright © 2017 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access