“…Because of the adverse effects of cross-linking with glutaraldehyde or other aldehyde treatments such as formaldehyde (Nimni et al, 1988) or dialdehyde starch (Rosenberg, 1978), numerous non-aldehyde treatments have been proposed, such as carbodiimides (Sung et al, 2003), glycerol (Ferrans et al, 1991), glycidal ethers (Thyagarajanet al, 1992) including poly(glycidylether) (Noishiki et al, 1986), acyl azide (Petite et al, 1990), cyanimide (Pereira et al, 1990), genipin (Wei et al, 2005), or dye-mediated photo-oxidation, phytate (Grases et al, 2008). Genipin, obtained from the fruits of Gardenia jasminoides ELLIS (Fujikawa et al, 1987;Tsai et al, 1994), exhibited better results than glutaraldehyde regarding its cytotoxicity (Sung et al, 1999), inflammatory response, ability to prevent calcification and tissue-induced mechanical properties (Wei et al, 2005 , 1989), was shown to be less cytotoxic, superior in pliability and to better inhibit calcification than glutaraldehyde (Sung et al, 1997). Carbodiimides generate amide-type crosslinks via direct cross-linking of the polypeptide chains.…”