Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Acta Biomater. 2015 Jan;12:122-128. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.10.024. Epub 2014 Oct 25.
This study demonstrates a method for producing ordered collagen fibrils on a similar length scale to those in the cornea, using a one-pot liquid-phase synthesis. The alignment persists throughout samples on the mm scale. The addition of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), a biocompatible and widely available material, to collagen prior to gelation causes the fibrils to align and achieve a narrow size distribution (36±8nm). The effects of NCC loading in the composites on microstructure, transparency and biocompatibility are studied by scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and cell growth experiments. A 2% loading of NCC increases the transparency of collagen while producing an ordered microstructure. A mechanism is proposed for the ordering behavior on the basis of enhanced hydrogen bonding during collagen gel formation.
本研究展示了一种在类似角膜胶原纤维长度尺度上制备有序胶原纤维的方法，采用了一锅液相合成法。在毫米尺度的样品中，这种排列方式一直保持不变。在凝胶化之前，将纳米纤维素（NCC）添加到胶原中，NCC 是一种生物相容性且广泛可用的材料，这使得纤维能够排列并实现狭窄的尺寸分布（36±8nm）。通过扫描电子显微镜、紫外-可见光谱和细胞生长实验研究了复合材料中 NCC 负载对微观结构、透明度和生物相容性的影响。NCC 的 2%负载增加了胶原的透明度，同时产生了有序的微观结构。基于胶原凝胶形成过程中氢键增强，提出了一种有序行为的机制。
