title: Genipin crosslinking elevates the strength of electrochemically aligned collagen to the level of tendons.
abstract: Collagen-based tissue mimics are important in clinical research because collagen is the main structural element in tendons. The current study aimed to improve the mechanical strength of Electronically Aligned Collagen (ELAC) threads by optimizing several crosslinking parameters. The results indicated that elevating the concentration of genipin to 2% and the solvent to 90% ethanol significantly enhanced the wet ultimate tensile stress of ELAC threads to 109 MPa with a crosslinking degree of 65%. Furthermore, significantly higher adhesion and proliferation of hMSCs was observed in ELAC threads crosslinked with 2% genipin in 90% ethanol compared to 0.625% genipin in 1X PBS. In conclusion, ELAC threads with mechanical strength on par with native tendon have significant potential to be used as scaffolds in tendon tissue engineering applications.
authors.affiliation: Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, 206 S. Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2032, United States of America. juquilla@purdue.edu
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alfredo Uquillas
authors.forename: Vipuil
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kishore
authors.forename: Ozan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Akkus
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004563:Electrochemistry; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D039823:Iridoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D013710:Tendons; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D039823:Iridoids; D000431:Ethanol; D003094:Collagen; C007834:genipin