text: The proper combination of chemicals is selected for decellularization depending on the thickness, extracellular matrix composition, and intended use of the tissue or organ.  For example, enzymes would not be used on a collagenous tissue because they disrupt the connective tissue fibers. However, when collagen is not present in a high concentration or needed in the tissue, enzymes can be a viable option for decellularization. The chemicals used to kill and remove the cells include acids, alkaline treatments, ionic detergents, non-ionic detergents, and zwitterionic detergents.
  The ionic detergent, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), is commonly used because of its high efficacy for lysing cells without significant damage to the ECM. Detergents act effectively to lyse the cell membrane and expose the contents to further degradation. After SDS lyses the cell membrane, endonucleases and exonucleases degrade the genetic contents, while other components of the cell are solubilized and washed out of the matrix. SDS is commonly used even though it has a tendency to slightly disrupt the ECM structure. Alkaline and acid treatments can be effective companions with an SDS treatment due to their ability to degrade nucleic acids and solubilize cytoplasmic inclusions.
  The most well known non-ionic detergent is Triton X-100, which is popular because of its ability to disrupt lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions. Triton X-100 does not disrupt protein-protein interactions, which is beneficial to keeping the ECM intact. EDTA is a chelating agent that binds calcium, which is a necessary component for proteins to interact with one another. By making calcium unavailable, EDTA prevents the integral proteins between cells from binding to one another.  EDTA is often used with trypsin, an enzyme that acts as a protease to cleave the already existing bonds between integral proteins of neighboring cells within a tissue.  Together, the EDTA-Trypsin combination make a good team for decellularizing tissues.