Mesostructured Fibrils Exfoliated in Deep Eutectic Solvent as Building Blocks of Collagen Membranes

Ying Pei; Wei Li; Lu Wang; Jing Cui; Lu Li; Shengjie Ling; Keyong Tang; Huafeng Tian

doi:10.3390/polym15194008

Polymers (Oct 2023)

Mesostructured Fibrils Exfoliated in Deep Eutectic Solvent as Building Blocks of Collagen Membranes

Ying Pei,
Wei Li,
Lu Wang,
Jing Cui,
Lu Li,
Shengjie Ling,
Keyong Tang,
Huafeng Tian

Affiliations

Ying Pei: Key Laboratory of Auxiliary Chemistry and Technology for Chemical Industry, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710021, China
Wei Li: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Lu Wang: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Jing Cui: School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai 201210, China
Lu Li: Key Laboratory of Auxiliary Chemistry and Technology for Chemical Industry, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710021, China
Shengjie Ling: School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai 201210, China
Keyong Tang: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Huafeng Tian: Key Laboratory of Processing and Quality Evaluation Technology of Green Plastics of China National Light Industry Council, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15194008
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 15, no. 19
p. 4008

Abstract

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The mesoscale components of collagen (nanofibrils, fibrils, and fiber bundles) are well organized in native tissues, resulting in superior properties and diverse functions. In this paper, we present a simple and controlled liquid exfoliation method to directly extract medium-sized collagen fibers ranging from 102 to 159 nm in diameter from bovine Achilles tendon using urea/hydrochloric acid and a deep eutectic solvent (DES). In situ observations under polarized light microscopy (POM) and molecular dynamics simulations revealed the effects of urea and GuHCl on tendon collagen. FTIR study results confirmed that these fibrils retained the typical structural characteristics of type I collagen. These shed collagen fibrils were then used as building blocks to create independent collagen membranes with good and stable mechanical properties, excellent barrier properties, and cell compatibility. A new method for collagen processing is provided in this work by using DES-assisted liquid exfoliation for constructing robust collagen membranes with mesoscale collagen fibrils as building blocks.

Published in Polymers

ISSN: 2073-4360 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers/

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