School of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Changqing Garden, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
School of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Changqing Garden, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2020 Jun 15;153:232-239. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.03.012. Epub 2020 Mar 3.
Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is a common method of molecular crosslinking and sterilization of collagen. In this study, UV irradiation at low temperature conditions was investigated as an induction and regulation method for fiber-like aggregation and gelation of collagen. Differences between gelation processes induced by UV irradiation and by traditional temperature-induced methods as well as differences in the properties of the gelation products were systematically analyzed. We found that UV irradiation can induce fiber-like aggregation and gelation of bovine tendon collagen at lower temperatures (<17 °C) than the usual temperature of 37 °C. During UV irradiation, cross-linking and degradation of collagen molecules occurred along with typical collagen fiber formation. The collagen fibers, together with the grafted collagen molecules and the degraded collagen peptides, formed a gel product that had a unique, multi-layered network structure. Collagen gels induced by UV irradiation at low temperatures displayed improved thermal stability, mechanical strength, and cell-growth promoting ability compared with collagen gels that were induced at 37 °C. Our results open up new avenues for the production of collagen-based biomaterials.
紫外线（UV）辐照是一种常见的胶原分子交联和灭菌方法。在这项研究中，研究了低温条件下的 UV 辐照作为诱导和调节胶原纤维状聚集和胶凝的方法。系统分析了由 UV 辐照诱导的胶凝过程与传统的温度诱导方法之间的差异以及胶凝产物的性质差异。我们发现，与通常的 37°C 温度相比，UV 辐照可以在较低的温度（<17°C）下诱导牛肌腱胶原的纤维状聚集和胶凝。在 UV 辐照过程中，胶原分子发生交联和降解，同时形成典型的胶原纤维。胶原纤维与接枝的胶原分子和降解的胶原肽一起形成具有独特的多层网络结构的凝胶产物。与在 37°C 下诱导的胶原凝胶相比，低温下由 UV 辐照诱导的胶原凝胶显示出改善的热稳定性、机械强度和促进细胞生长的能力。我们的结果为基于胶原的生物材料的生产开辟了新的途径。
