Collagen fibres with improved strength for the repair of soft tissue injuries.

Our laboratory has developed a process for self-assembly of high strength collagen fibres in vitro which exhibit the characteristic D period. These fibres can be cross-linked by severe dehydration (dehydrothermal cross-linking) at elevated temperature and formulated into devices used to repair soft tissues. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dehydrothermal cross-linking time and temperature on the tensile mechanical properties of collagen fibres. The results discussed indicate that the tensile strength of reconstituted collagen fibres is optimized by cross-linking for 5 d at 110 degrees C. Tensile strength and modulus values of 91.8 and 896 MPa are reported for fibres cross-linked in this manner. High tensile strength and modulus values are especially important in developing biodegradable materials that promote healing of orthopaedic structures.