Collagen & Wound Healing
Collagen has served humanity in countless ways. This most abundant animal protein is the primary component of leathers, glues, gelatin for food & pharmaceutical capsules, and strings for musical instruments and tennis rackets. No other protein has had as much utility.
The use of collagen as a modern biomaterial began in 1881. In that year, Joseph Lister, who founded modern surgery, and his former student William Macewen reported autonomously on the advantages of a biodegradable suture termed “catgut”, a collagen-rich biomaterial prepared from the small intestine of a sheep. Over the ensuing years, countless innovations have extended the reach of collagen in the engineering and repair of soft tissue.
“In most soft and hard connective tissues, collagen fibrils and their networks comprise the majority of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and form a highly organized, three-dimensional scaffold that surrounds the cells. Collagen also plays a dominant role in maintaining the biological and structural integrity of the ECM and is a dynamic and flexible material that undergoes constant re-modeling to refine cellular behavior and tissue function. Collagen is surface-active and is capable of penetrating a lipid-free interface. Biodegradable and non-toxic, exogenous collagen is more biocompatible than other natural polymers, and only weakly antigenic. Collagen can form fibers with high tensile strength and stability via cross-linking and self-aggregation. These fibers can be formulated into numerous scaffolds of high utility, which have arisen from an in-depth understanding of collagen structure and function. Type I collagen is the most abundant type in animals and is the type most often used in medicine” (Chattopadhyay & Raines, 2014).
High biocompatibility and inherent biodegradability by endogenous collagenases make exogenous collagen ideal for use in biomedical applications.
Wound Dressings
“Collagen plays a pivotal role in many pre- and post-operative surgical procedures. Due to its low antigenicity and inherent biocompatibility with most endogenous tissue, natural collagen has often been used for surgical repair. Wound dressings based on collagen are practical and easily remodeled due to their simple structure, relative uniformity, and abundant availability. Collagen-based wound dressings have long been used to cover burn wounds and treat ulcers. They have a distinctive practical and economic advantage compared to growth-factor and cell-based treatment of full-thickness wounds and have been formulated in several different ways. ” (Chattopadhyay & Raines, 2014).
Skin Replacement
“Due to its mechanical strength and biocompatibility, reconstituted type I collagen can replace damaged skin directly. For example, a full-thickness excision wound in a porcine model has been used to study the effects of a collagen matrix implant on granulation tissue formation, wound contraction, and re-epithelialization. Wounds with implants show enhanced granulation tissue formation and re-epithelialization; the contraction is reduced significantly, showing a bias towards wound regeneration and cosmetic utility” (Chattopadhyay & Raines, 2014).
“Cultured skin substitutes from cryo-preserved skin cells have been used to cure chronic diabetic wounds. In place of pathological skin, the contracted collagen lattice serves as a support for epithelial cell growth and differentiation. ” (Chattopadhyay & Raines, 2014).
Conclusion
An area of principal significance and necessity in health care research is the development of biomaterials that are convenient, persistent, and versatile. Collagen by its ubiquity, low immunogenicity, and ability to be molded into strong, biocompatible scaffolds, meets these criteria and thus plays a critical role in wound care. Furthermore, collagen-based materials are aptly at the junction of natural and synthetic macromolecules.
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References:
Chattopadhyay1, Sayani, and Ronald T Raines1. “Collagen-Based Biomaterials for Wound Healing.” Biopolymers, 2014.
