title: Post-self-assembly experimentation on extruded collagen fibres for tissue engineering applications.
abstract: Extruded collagen fibres have been shown to constitute a biomimetic three-dimensional scaffold with numerous tissue engineering applications. The multi-step fabrication process of this material provides opportunities for further advancements to improve the properties of the final product. Herein we investigated the influence of the post-self-assembly washing baths on the structural, mechanical and thermal properties of these fibres. The surface morphology and the inter-fibre packing were similar for every treatment. The overnight incubation in isopropanol yielded fibres with the highest temperature and energy of denaturation (p<0.013). Typical s- and j-shape stress-strain curves were obtained for all treatments in the dry and wet state respectively. Rehydration of the fibres resulted in increased fibre diameter (p<0.006) and reduced stress (p<0.001), force (p<0.001) and modulus (p<0.002) values for every treatment. In the dry state, the alcohol-treated fibres were characterized by the highest stress (p<0.002) values; whilst in the wet state the Tris-HCl-treated fibres were the weakest (p<0.006). For every treatment, in both dry and wet state, a strong and inverse relationship between the fibre diameter and the stress at break was observed. Overall, the fibres produced were characterized by properties similar to those of native tissues.
authors.affiliation: Tissue Modulation Laboratory, National University of Singapore Tissue Engineering Programme, National University of Singapore, 117510, Singapore. dzeugolis@gmail.com
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Zeugolis
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Attenburrow
mesh_terms: D019840:2-Propanol / Q000737:chemistry; D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D032701:Biomimetics; D002417:Cattle; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013696:Temperature; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003094:Collagen; D019840:2-Propanol