Property peculiarities of the atelocollagen-hyaluronan conjugates crosslinked with a short chain di-oxirane compound

V. Maier , C.M. Lefter , S.S. Maier , M. Butnaru , M. Danu , C. Ibanescu , M. Popa , Jacques Desbrieres (1)

1 IPREM - Institut des sciences analytiques et de physico-chimie pour l'environnement et les materiaux

Minimal amounts of a short-chain bifunctional crosslinker of about 1.3 nm length, the 1,4-butanediol-diglycidyl ether (BDDGE), were used to generate atelocollagen-hyaluronan conjugates in hydrogel state. Two a priori constraints were considered in recipe/procedure developing: (i) working in nondenaturing conditions, and (ii) ensuring a low cytotoxicity of the final product. Both atelocollagen (aK) and hyaluronan (NaHyal) were accurately purified to reduce their molecular-weight dispersity, in order to ensure the reproducibility of hydrogels characteristics. 1:5 aK:NaHyal weight ratios and 1:2.5 to 1:5 α-NH2:BDDGE molar ratios were found to be the most favorable recipe prescriptions that allow the obtaining of rheo-mechanically stable hydrogels, able to be manipulated during cell culturing protocols. Experiments revealed two unexpected effects due to the crosslinking reactions mediated by a short-chain molecule: (i) the occurrence of two thresholds in the rheological behavior of the hydrogels, related with the amount of added crosslinker, and (ii) a quasi-denaturation side-effect induced over the protein component by large or in excess amounts of crosslinker. © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Domaines: Polymères

V. Maier, C.M. Lefter, S.S. Maier, M. Butnaru, M. Danu, et al.. Property peculiarities of the atelocollagen-hyaluronan conjugates crosslinked with a short chain di-oxirane compound. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 2014, 42, pp.243-253. ⟨10.1016/j.msec.2014.05.027⟩. ⟨hal-01585381⟩