A novel method to fabricate elastin/collagen fiber composites: Proof of concept

Abstract

Collagen and elastin are the main fibrous proteins of load-bearing soft tissues, conferring extensibility and strength upon those tissues through their interactions. However, to date, only a few techniques have been developed to fabricate fiber composites made from these proteins. Here we present an original method of fabricating fibrous composites of collagen and elastin and characterize their mechanical behavior. Soluble elastin was electrospun to form a sheet of elastin fibers, which was rolled and submerged in an acidic solution of collagen to permit collagen infiltration. The construct was incubated at 37 °C for 1 h so that collagen fibers self-assembled into the elastin fiber network, forming an elastin/collagen fiber composite. Simultaneous application of static mechanical loading and a chemical cross-linker, genipin, to the construct for an additional 24 h was also performed for fiber alignment. SEM observation revealed that elastin and collagen fibers were well integrated, although effects of mechanical loading to align those fibers were not observed. These elastin/collagen fiber composites possessed mechanical properties between those of collagen and elastin. Tensile properties benefited from collagen, whereas viscoelastic properties were derived from elastin. This method can be applied to development of artificial replacements of load-bearing soft tissues, such as tendon and meniscus.