Novel self-assembly-induced gelation for nanofibrous collagen/hydroxyapatite composite microspheres

Jae Won Choi, Jong Woo Kim, In Hwan Jo, Young Hag Koh, Hyoun Ee Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study demonstrates the utility of the newly developed self-assembly-induced gelation technique for the synthesis of porous collagen/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite microspheres with a nanofibrous structure. This new approach can produce microspheres of a uniform size using the droplets that form at the nozzle tip before gelation. These microspheres can have a highly nanofibrous structure due to the immersion of the droplets in a coagulation bath (water/acetone), in which the collagen aggregates in the solution can self-assemble into fibrils due to pH-dependent precipitation. Bioactive HA particles were incorporated into the collagen solutions, in order to enhance the bioactivity of the composite microspheres. The composite microspheres exhibited a well-defined spherical morphology and a uniform size for all levels of HA content (0 wt %, 10 wt %, 15 wt %, and 20 wt %). Collagen nanofibers-several tens of nanometers in size-were uniformly present throughout the microspheres and the HA particles were also well dispersed. The in vitro apatite-forming ability, assessed using the simulated body fluid (SBF) solution, increased significantly with the incorporation of HA into the composite microspheres.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1110
JournalMaterials
Volume10
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017 Sept 21

Keywords

  • Biomaterials
  • Collagen
  • Hydroxyapatite
  • In vitro bioactivity
  • Porous scaffolds

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Condensed Matter Physics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Novel self-assembly-induced gelation for nanofibrous collagen/hydroxyapatite composite microspheres'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this