Collagen hydrogels exhibited a contractile trend in simulated body fluid. In this study, the internal pore architecture and mechanical properties of collagen hydrogel prepared by radiation crosslinking was evaluated during contraction, and the effect of contractile collagen hydrogels on the biological behavior of fibroblasts were investigated in vitro, such as viability, proliferation, morphology, apoptosis, cycle, and stress fiber. The results showed that accompany with contraction of collagen hydrogel, the pore diameter of the hydrogels decreased and compressive modulus increased. However, fibroblasts can grow on contractile collagen hydrogels. Indeed, collagen hydrogel contracted from circumference to the interior, which retard the spreading of fibroblasts on the dynamic substrate and interrupted the initial attachment of the cell. However, contraction of collagen hydrogel had not only significant influence on the L929 cell proliferation, but also accelerated the apoptosis. Cell cycle analysis showed that contractile collagen hydrogel may promote cell cycle from G₀/G₁ phase to S phase, and DNA synthesis and cell proliferation were enhanced, but which may be different in contraction process. Therefore, as a scaffold for tissue engineering, the strategy for inhibition of the contraction of collagen hydrogel should be taken into account. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 2669–2679, 2014.

Collagen hydrogels were prepared via radiation crosslinking. The simulated physiological environmental effects related to their biomedical applications on the volume phase transition of collagen hydrogel were studied, that is stimuli response to ions, temperature, and pH. The deswelling behavior of collagen hydrogel depends on the salt concentration, temperature, pH, and the hydrogel preparation procedure. Meanwhile, hydrogel structure related to the volume phase transition was investigated by FTIR, fluorescence spectrum, and HR-MAS NMR. Deswelling in salt solution caused little change on collagen conformation, and a denser network led to more significant tyrosine-derived fluorescence quenching. Hydrogen bonding between hydrated water and collagen polypeptide chain was dissociated and the activity of hydrophobic side chain increased, inducing a higher extent of contraction with the increasing of salt concentration. Moreover, salt solution treatments weakened the electrostatic interactions, side chains interactions, and hydrogen bonding of collagen hydrogel, which reduced the thermal stability of collagen hydrogel. Comparing with cell-free collagen hydrogel contraction, fibroblasts did not aggravate contraction of collagen hydrogel significantly. This study elucidated the deswelling mechanism of radiation crosslinked collagen hydrogel in simulated physiological environment and provides strategies for controlling the stimuli response of collagen hydrogel in biomedical application. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2013.

Pulverization and degradation are important pretreatment procedures in producing bio-ethanol from cellulose. In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), a pure α-cellulose, was degraded by γ-irradiation. The average degree of polymerization, content of reducing sugar, crystalline structure, and molecular structure were investigated to elucidate the radiation effect on the degradation of MCC. The results manifested that γ-ray destroyed part of the chemical bond and hydrogen bond, leading to the degradation of cellulose and increasing of the reducing sugar content. According to the Fourier transform infrared result, radiation degradation led to the formation of reductive carbonyl group. Meanwhile, radiation had slight influence on the crystalline structures of MCC. Therefore, the radiation degradation procedure is expected to benefit the further proceedings such as ultrafine treatment and enzyme hydrolysis of cellulose. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

Under γ-irradiation, concentrated collagen solutions yielded collagen hydrogels and liquid products. The molecular structure of collagen hydrogels and the source of the liquid products were studied. Furthermore, preliminary biological properties of the hydrogels were investigated. The results revealed that crosslinking occurred to form collagen hydrogel and the crosslinking density increased with the increasing of the absorbed dose, and the collagen hydrogels showed enhanced mechanical properties. Meanwhile, collagen underwent radiation degradation and water was squeezed out from hydrogel by contraction of hydrogel, yielding liquid products. Collagen hydrogels induced by γ-irradiation maintained the backbone structure of collagen, and tyrosine partially involved in crosslinking. The irradiated collagen hydrogels have higher denatured temperature, can promote fibroblasts proliferation, and their degradation rate in vivo depended on the absorbed dose. The comprehensive results suggested that the collagen hydrogels prepared by radiation crosslinking preserved the triple helical conformation, possessed improved thermal stability and mechanical properties, excellent biocompatibility, which is expected to favor its application as biomaterials. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 100A:2960–2969, 2012.

A series of nanofibrous scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/gelatin aqueous solution. PVA and gelatin was dissolved in pure water and blended in full range, then being electrospun to prepared nanofibers, followed by being crosslinked with glutaraldehyde vapor and heat treatment to form nanofibrous scaffold. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images of the nanofibers manifested that the fiber average diameters decreased from 290 to 90 nm with the increasing of gelatin. In vitro degradation rates of the nanofibers were also correlated with the composition and physical properties of electrospinning solutions. Cytocompatibility of the scaffolds was evaluated by cells morphology and MTT assay. The FESEM images revealed that NIH 3T3 fibroblasts spread and elongated actively on the scaffolds with spindle-like and star-type shape. The results of cell attachment and proliferation on the nanofibrous scaffolds suggested that the cytotoxicity of all samples are grade 1 or grade 0, indicating that the material had sound biosafety as biomaterials. Compared with pure PVA and gelatin scaffolds, the hybrid ones possess improved biocompatibility and controllability. These results indicate that the PVA/gelatin nanofibrous have potential as skin scaffolds or wound dressing. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011