Molecular dynamics study of the interfacial mechanical properties of the graphene-collagen biological nanocomposite

The reinforcement of biological polymers, such as collagen, with nanoscale fillers for use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is a promising research area that is just beginning to be explored. We study the mechanical properties of Type I collagen embedded with graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) as an important template employed in tissue repair. The graphene-collagen interfacial bonding properties play a significant role during load transfer in the nanocomposite and, hence, as the primary goal of this work, a set of pull-out studies, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, are performed to characterise the interfacial mechanical properties. The dependence of the pull-out force on the presence of ripples on the surface of the GNRs, arising due to thermal fluctuations, is also examined, as well as the influence of the pull-out velocity. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.