Nerve grafts are able to adapt to surrounding biomechanical environments if the nerve graft itself exhibits appropriate biomechanical properties (load, elastic modulus, etc.). The present study was designed to determine the differences in biomechanical properties between fresh and chemically acellularized sciatic nerve grafts. Two different chemical methods were used to establish acellular nerve grafts. The nerve was chemically extracted in the Sondell method with a combination of Triton X-100 (nonionic detergent) and sodium deoxycholate (anionic detergent), and in the modified method with a combination of Triton X-200 (anionic detergent), sulfobetaine-10 (SB-10, amphoteric detergents), and sulfobetaine-16 (SB-16, amphoteric detergents). Following acellularization, hematoxylin-eosin staining and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the effect of acellularization via the modified method was similar to the traditional Sondell method. However, effects of demyelination and nerve fiber tube integrity were superior to the traditional Sondell method. Biomechanical testing showed that peripheral nerve graft treated using the chemical method resulted in decreased biomechanical properties (ultimate load, ultimate stress, ultimate strain, and mechanical work to fracture) compared with fresh nerves, but the differences had no statistical significance (P > 0.05). These results demonstrated no significant effect on biomechanical properties of nerves treated using the chemical method. In conclusion, nerve grafts treated via the modified method removed Schwann cells, preserved neural structures, and ensured biomechanical properties of the nerve graft, which could be more appropriate for implantation studies.
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