Design, manufacturing and testing of a green non-isocyanate polyurethane prosthetic heart valve.

The sole effective treatment for most patients with heart valve disease is valve replacement by implantation of mechanical or biological prostheses. However, mechanical valves represent high risk of thromboembolism, and biological prostheses are prone to early degeneration. In this work, we aim to determine the potential of novel environmentally-friendly non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPUs) for manufacturing synthetic prosthetic heart valves.