Year

2022

Degree Name

Master of Philosophy

Department

School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience

Abstract

Collagen is the most abundant protein in both vertebrates and invertebrates, and it´s the primary structural protein of a wide variety of tissues. As such, it is considered a key factor for tissue engineering application. Nowadays, collagen is being used in a wide range of bioartificial tissues such as bone, however, its two main sources are bovine and porcine which have gradually risen concerns due to the fact of inter-species diseases (such as the mad cow disease) and several religious beliefs. These issues have urged to find new alternative sources, being marine-derived sources one of the most promising ones. The aim of this study is to stablish a protocol to successfully extract collagen type I from the skin of the Red Snapper, an autochthonous fish from the Australian coast. Every year, thousands of kilos of fish´s skins, scales, bones, and tendons are discarded as side product from fisheries. Being able to re-use these materials will not only provide a sustainable income of raw material, but also lower the price of collagen. After the acid-base extraction, collagen was isolated by precipitation and dialysis cycles, leaving a pure product which was later characterized with different spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, CD) and SDS PAGE, and compared to commercially available collagens. To improve the material´s mechanical properties, acrylate groups were incorporated, which allow for a stronger chemical UV crosslinking compared to thermal crosslinking. Finally, the collagen was coaxially printed along some supporting material, both in the core and as a shell, meaning the proper degree of freedom to fabricate different tissues was achieved. Cellular viability was kept above 80% after 21 days, proving the biocompatibility of the material.

FoR codes (2008)

0303 MACROMOLECULAR AND MATERIALS CHEMISTRY, 0903 BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, 1004 MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

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Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.