Soft-coral collagen fiber biocomposites for aortic valve leaflet engineering: From material design to computational analysis

This study introduces a novel biocomposite aortic valve (AV) leaflet as a potential alternative to current AV prostheses. The proposed layered biocomposite, inspired by the native AV microstructure, consists of a Pluronic-DMA matrix reinforced with long collagen fibers from soft coral. Mechanical constitutive models, calibrated and validated from experiments with varying fiber orientations and volume fractions, are then used for AV structural analysis. Parametric AV-structural simulations show improved stress distribution with non-uniform fiber bundle distribution, potentially reducing mechanical fatigue. This biocomposite-based AV replacement integrates improved mechanical behavior with biocompatibility and holds significant promise for addressing challenges in current AV prostheses.