Enhancing mechanical properties of marine collagens for bone tissue regeneration: physicochemical and mechanical characterization

• Grant number: 23/07615-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Ana Claudia Muniz Renno
• Grantee: Gustavo Oliva Amaral
• Supervisor: Renko de Vries
• Host Institution: Instituto de Saúde e Sociedade (ISS). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/04991-0 - 3D printing: Characterization and in vitro studies of skin dressings manufactured from collagen from fish skin and marine sponges, BP.MS

Abstract

Bone defects due to trauma and diseases such as osteoporosis remain a major clinical concern. Due to the limited availability of materials and clinical studies, bone substitutes are highly used in the clinic today. However, these substitutes lack bone regeneration effects, and when used in conjunction with growth factors, they can lead to unwanted side effects. It is known that during natural bone development, collagen plays the most important role in bone mineralization. Thus, collagen-based bone substitutes are available on the market, however, they do not provide adequate structural guidance. To overcome the limitations of collagen biomaterials, this research project aims to develop a marine collagen hydrogel with enhanced viscoelasticity for application in bone defects, via additives that induce physical cross-linking between collagen fibrils. Objectives of this research are: (i) extract, manufacture, and modify the viscoelasticity of collagen hydrogel from marine sponges; (ii) characterize the morphological and physical-chemical properties of the hydrogel; (iii) characterize the rheological and mechanical properties of the hydrogel. (AU)