Relationships between molecular mobility, fibrillogenesis of collagen molecules, and the inflammatory response: An experimental study in vitro and in vivo

This study was designed to investigate the in vitro adsorption and fibrillogenesis of collagen on a surface with dynamic properties and to investigate how this surface affected the inflammatory response in vivo. Investigation of collagen-surface interactions is directly related to the control of wound healing where collagen adsorption, fibrillization, deposition, and maturation occur. ABA-type block copolymers, composed of polyrotaxane (which possesses α-cyclodextrin threaded along poly(ethylene glycol)) and hydrophobic terminal segments, were used to prepare mobile surfaces with representative dynamic properties. Analyses using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) indicated that increasing the mobility of the polymer on the surface led to the formation of a soft collagen layer. The collagens in this layer had rearranged, leading to the formation of thicker collagen fibrils by lateral aggregation. When a surface with a high molecular mobility was subcutaneously implanted into rats, collagen rearrangement occurred leading to suppression of macrophage recruitment at the interface and the formation of a fibrotic capsule around the implant. These results suggest that surface mobility on an implant is an important parameter for normal wound healing.