Figure 3.

Absorbance peaks of FTIR spectra. A: Representative deconvoluted FTIR spectra of type I bovine collagen gels. a, untreated; b, crosslinked with Glut; c, crosslinked with TGA. A shift in the amide I spectral pattern was caused by overnight, 37°C TGA pretreatment, with a reversal of relative peak heights at ∼1630 and 1655 cm⁻¹. B: Averaged deconvoluted FTIR-RTM spectra of six microscopic cross-sectional areas of porcine aortic valve. a, untreated; b, crosslinked with Glut; c, crosslinked with TGA. A shift in the amide I spectral pattern and slight reversal of the relative peak heights (at ∼1630 and 1655 cm⁻¹) was caused by 7-day, 25°C TGA treatment. C: Averaged deconvoluted FTIR-RTM spectra of 10 microscopic cross-sectional areas of bovine pericardium. a, untreated; b, crosslinked with Glut; c, crosslinked with TGA. No shift in the spectral pattern is observed in the amide I or amide II regions.