Establishing the ideal 3D-matrix for organ regeneration is one of the big challenges in regenerative medicine. The mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are incompletely understood, partly due to the limited availability of volume-based mechanical test methods such as MRE. Therefore, we used a 0.5 T compact tabletop MRE system and measured the change of stiffness in rat livers due to decellularization and cell wall disruption by lysis. While the viscoelastic properties of intact liver tissue are determined by cells and can be described by a power law behavior, decellularized tissue has more solid-like properties following a Kelvin-Voigt-model behavior.
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