Department of Biological Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
J Biomed Mater Res A. 2014 Feb;102(2):332-9. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.34698. Epub 2013 May 14.
Collagen has been utilized as a scaffold for tissue engineering applications due to its many advantageous properties. However, collagen in its purified state is mechanically weak and prone to rapid degradation. To mitigate these effects, collagen can be crosslinked. Although enhanced mechanical properties and stability can be achieved by crosslinking, collagen can be rendered less biocompatible either due to changes in the overall microstructure or due to the cytotoxicity of the crosslinkers. We have investigated crosslinking collagen using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to enhance mechanical properties and resistance to degradation while also maintaining its natural microstructure and biocompatibility. Rat tail type I collagen was crosslinked with AuNPs using a zero-length crosslinker, 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC). Several characterization studies were performed including electron microscopy, collagenase assays, ROS assays, and biocompatibility assays. The results demonstrated that AuNP-collagen scaffolds had increased resistance to degradation as compared to non-AuNP-collagen while still maintaining an open microstructure. Although the biocompatibility assays showed that the collagen and AuNP-collagen scaffolds are biocompatible, the AuNP-collagen demonstrated enhanced cellularity and glycoaminoglycans (GAG) production over the collagen scaffolds. Additionally, the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) assays indicated the ability of the AuNP-collagen to reduce oxidation. Overall, the AuNP-collagen scaffolds demonstrated enhanced biocompatibility and stability over non-AuNP scaffolds.
胶原蛋白因其许多优良特性而被用作组织工程应用的支架。然而，纯态的胶原蛋白机械强度较弱，容易迅速降解。为了减轻这些影响，可以对胶原蛋白进行交联。虽然交联可以提高机械性能和稳定性，但由于整体微观结构的变化或交联剂的细胞毒性，胶原蛋白的生物相容性可能会降低。我们研究了使用金纳米粒子（AuNPs）交联胶原蛋白，以增强机械性能和抗降解能力，同时保持其天然的微观结构和生物相容性。使用 1-乙基-3-(3-二甲基氨基丙基)碳二亚胺（EDC）作为零长度交联剂，将大鼠尾巴 I 型胶原蛋白与 AuNPs 交联。进行了几项特征描述研究，包括电子显微镜、胶原蛋白酶测定、ROS 测定和生物相容性测定。结果表明，与非 AuNP-胶原蛋白相比，AuNP-胶原蛋白支架具有更高的抗降解能力，同时仍保持开放的微观结构。尽管生物相容性测定表明胶原蛋白和 AuNP-胶原蛋白支架具有生物相容性，但 AuNP-胶原蛋白显示出比胶原蛋白支架更高的细胞活力和糖胺聚糖（GAG）产生。此外，活性氧（ROS）测定表明 AuNP-胶原蛋白能够减少氧化。总的来说，AuNP-胶原蛋白支架在生物相容性和稳定性方面优于非 AuNP 支架。
