1 research outputs found
Physicochemical and Biochemical Characterization of Collagen from <i>Stichopus</i> cf. <i>horrens</i> Tissues for Use as Stimuli-Responsive Thin Films
The mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) of sea cucumber,
with its
ability to rapidly change its stiffness and extensibility in response
to different environmental stress conditions, serves as inspiration
for the design of new smart functional biomaterials. Collagen, extracted
from the body wall of Stichopus cf. horrens, a species commonly found in the Philippines, was characterized
for its suitability as stimuli-responsive films. Protein BLAST search
showed the presence of sequences commonly found in type VII and IX
collagen, suggesting that Stichopus horrens collagen is heterotypic. The maximum transition temperature recorded
was 56.0 ± 2 °C, which is higher than those of other known
sources of marine collagen. This suggests that S. horrens collagen has better thermal stability and durability. Collagen-based
thin films were then prepared, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging
showed the visible collagen network comprising the films. The thin
films were subjected to thermomechanical analysis with degradation
starting at >175 °C. At 100–150 °C, the collagen-based
films apparently lose their translucency due to the removal of moisture.
Upon exposure to ambient temperature, instead of degrading, the films
were able to revert to the original state due to the readsorption
of moisture. This study is a demonstration of a smart biomaterial
developed from S. cf. horrens collagen
with potential applications in food, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and
other collagen-based research