title: Transparent, tough collagen laminates prepared by oriented flow casting, multi-cyclic vitrification and chemical cross-linking.
abstract: The lamellar architecture found in many natural fibrous tissues has a significant bearing on their specific functions. However, current engineered tissues have simultaneously no realistic structures and no adequate functions. This study demonstrates a two-step process for obtaining structurally mimicking laminates in natural fibrous tissues with good optical and mechanical characters from purified-clinically-safe collagen molecules. Stacked lamella structures can be created by repeating flow casting, with the controlling parallel/orthogonal directionalities of each thin single-layer (2-5 μm in thickness). The transparency of laminates is successfully improved by a unique multi-cyclic vitrification with chemical cross-linking. The directionalities of optical and mechanical functions in laminates are strongly related with the preferential collagen alignments in the laminates. The tensile strength of laminates is extremely higher than any other engineered materials as well as native cornea, which exhibit an orthogonal laminated collagen structure and a good optical transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baba
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asahi
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Quantock
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamato
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishida
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D003094:Collagen / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008859:Microscopy, Polarization; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D003094:Collagen