Effect of cryopreservation at −80 °C on visco-hyperelastic properties of skeletal muscle tissue

This paper investigated the effect of cryopreservation at −80 °C on mechanical visco-hyperelastic properties of skeletal muscle. For that, both tensile and compression relaxation tests were performed on porcine tissues samples in fibre and cross-fibre directions. Material parameters were identified by using first order Ogden's strain energy function coupled with second order Maxwell's model. The results revealed that the cryopreservation conditions at −80 °C with conservative and cryoprotectant solution significantly affected the mechanical properties of the skeletal muscle. Thus, cryopreserved tissue showed a higher instantaneous initial Young's modulus than for the fresh tissue in both tensile and compression deformations, and in the two muscular fibre directions. Furthermore, in compression tests, cryopreserved tissue exhibited a smaller non-linearity and a higher total relaxation ratio in both muscle fibre directions than for the fresh tissue.