Carbodiimide crosslinked collagen from porcine dermal matrix for high-strength tissue engineering scaffold

Naturally-derived collagens for tissue engineering are limited by low mechanical strength and rapid degradation. In this study, carbodiimide is used to chemically modify the collagen derived from porcine acellular dermal matrix (PADM). The results show that the strength and resistance of PADM to enzymatic digestion can be adjusted by the reconnection of free amino and carboxyl groups of the collagen fibers. The cytocompatibility of the crosslinked PADM was evaluated by cell adhesion and proliferation assays. The cell culture studies on crosslinked and uncrosslinked PADM showed that the modification does not affect the scaffold's biocompatibility. These results demonstrate that the PADM collagen materials can be strengthened through a low-cost, non-toxic crosslinking method for potential use in biomedical applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.