A new method for the preparation of biocompatible silica coated-collagen hydrogels

M.L.FOGLIA; D.E.CAMPOROTONDI; G.S. ALVAREZ; S. HEINEMANN; T. HANKE ; C. J. PÉREZ; L.E. DIAZ; M. DESIMONE

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

Lugar: CAMBRIDGE; Año: 2013 vol. 1 p. 6283 - 6290

0959-9428

Silica-collagen scaffolds were obtained by covalent binding of an aminosilane to glutaraldehyde fixed collagen hydrogels, rendering a three dimensional network of silicon coated collagen fibrils. When compared to non-silicified collagen, silica containing matrices exhibited a 60 fold increment in the rheological properties. Moreover, acellular degradation by collagenase type I indicated that enzymatic digestion occurred at a slower rate for silica modified hydrogels, hence enabling a controlled degradation of the obtained material. In addition, fibroblastic cells seeded on silicified collagen matrices were able to adhere, proliferate and migrate within the scaffold for over 3 weeks as shown by MTT tests and hematoxylin-eosin staining. These results suggest that the herein described method could be useful in the design of materials for tissue engineering purposes.