Patent ID: 7775965

Claim:
A process of preparing a decellularized matrix on which at least one cell type may be seeded to remodel a tissue, comprising the steps of: providing at least a portion of an umbilical cord; isolating an umbilical vessel of the umbilical cord by disposing a mandrel into a lumenal space of the umbilical vessel, wherein the mandrel has a diameter that is equal to or slightly greater than a diameter of the luminal space of the umbilical vessel, and wherein the mandrel is formed of a material having a low coefficient of expansion such that the mandrel does not expand or contract at a rate that is not supportive of the umbilical vessel supported thereon; securing the umbilical cord to the mandrel; freezing the umbilical cord secured to the mandrel to a temperature in a range of from about −40° C. to about −150° C.; automatically dissecting the remainder of the umbilical cord away from the isolated umbilical vessel such that the isolated umbilical vessel has a substantially uniform thickness; thawing the isolated, dissected umbilical vessel secured to the mandrel; and decellularizing the isolated umbilical vessel while substantially maintaining the structural composition of the extracellular matrix such that the isolated umbilical vessel maintains a surface on which at least one cell type may be seeded and thus allowed to adhere thereto, be maintained thereon and migrate therethrough, and wherein the isolated umbilical vessel is not substantially cross-linked.