# Handling and Associated Material Properties of Porcine and Human Acellular Dermal Matrices

## TL;DR

This study compares the handling and mechanical properties of human and porcine-derived acellular dermal matrices using a new drape test and surgeon assessments.

## Contribution

A novel drape assay was developed and shown to correlate with surgeon assessments of pliability in acellular dermal matrices.

## Key findings

- Surgeon assessments of pliability correlated strongly with quantitative drape measurements (R2 = 82.5%).
- hADM showed the greatest strain/elongation and maximum stress compared to porcine-derived ADMs.
- pADM-A had similar drapability to hADM but differed in mechanical strength compared to pADM-S.

## Abstract

Pliability, handling, and drape characteristics are important material properties of acellular dermal matrices (ADMs). There are few in vitro techniques that quantitatively assess these characteristics.

The aim of the authors of this study is to compare data generated using a novel drape assay with surgeon handling of porcine-derived ADMs and evaluate material properties of human- and porcine-derived ADMs.

Three commercially available ADMs (human-derived AlloDerm [hADM], porcine-derived Strattice Pliable [pADM-S], and porcine-derived Artia [pADM-A]) were assessed. Eight prototype variations of pADM with varied mechanical properties were used for the handling assessment. Drape testing was conducted using a novel mechanical test fixture coupled with quantitative image analysis. Surgeon handling assessments of prototype pADM pliability were compared with quantitative drape measurements to establish a correlation. Commercially available ADMs were tensile tested mechanically at clinically relevant and higher loads to determine maximum strength.

Benchtop testing demonstrated similar drapability for pADM-A and hADM; pADM-S had significantly less drapability than pADM-A, despite both being porcine derived. Surgeon semiquantitative ranking of pliability of prototype pADM samples positively correlated with drape measurements (R2 = 82.5%, P = .000). Tensile testing demonstrated that hADM had the greatest degree of strain/elongation across all applied loads, followed by pADM-A, then pADM-S. When tested to failure, hADM had the greatest average maximum stress compared with pADM-A and pADM-S.

The novel drape assay introduced here correlated with surgeon handling assessment of ADM pliability. Material testing and handling assessment demonstrated various mechanical properties (ie, strength, strain/elongation, drapability, and handling/pliability) for the ADMs evaluated, providing several unique options that may meet different surgical mechanical needs.