title: Three-Dimensional Porous Sponges from Collagen Biowastes.
abstract: Three-dimensional, functional, and porous scaffolds can find applications in a variety of fields. Here we report the synthesis of hierarchical and interconnected porous sponges using a simple freeze-drying technique, employing collagen extracted from animal skin wastes and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. The ultralightweight, high-surface-area sponges exhibit excellent mechanical stability and enhanced absorption of organic contaminants such as oils and dye molecules. Additionally, these biocomposite sponges display significant cellular biocompatibility, which opens new prospects in biomedical uses. The approach highlights innovative ways of transforming biowastes into advanced hybrid materials using simple and scalable synthesis techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Meiyazhagan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ashokkumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Alin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cristian Chipara
authors.affiliation: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research-Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TCIS) , Hyderabad 500075, India.
authors.forename: Narayanan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tharangattu Narayanan
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.|Advanced Materials Laboratory, Centre for Leather Apparel & Accessories Development (CLAD), Central Leather Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) , Adyar, Chennai 600020, India.
authors.forename: Ayyappan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anumary
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Radhakrishnan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sruthi
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Laboratory, Centre for Leather Apparel & Accessories Development (CLAD), Central Leather Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) , Adyar, Chennai 600020, India.
authors.forename: Palanisamy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thanikaivelan
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vajtai
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston, Texas 77030, United States.
authors.forename: Sendurai A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mani
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science & NanoEngineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.
authors.forename: Pulickel M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Ajayan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005612:Freeze Drying; D053758:Nanoparticles; D016062:Porosity
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen
keywords: cell viability; collagen; environmental applications; porous sponge; skin wastes