Mudera, V;
Player, D;
Kureshi, A;
(2019)
Engineering of Collagen as a Functional Biomaterial.
In: Moo-Young, M, (ed.)
Comprehensive Biotechnology.
(pp. 442-456).
Pergamon
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Abstract
Engineering collagen at first sight sounds perhaps superfluous. There would seem to be many collagens present, and engineering of extracellular protein materials could appear to be peripheral to the engineering of tissues. We have tried here to show that these two impressions are wrong and deserve serious re-examination. What we currently have available is not really a plethora of engineered, fine-tuned collagen building materials, but various forms of crude collagen-based extracts and aggregates commonly made using old technologies, which we make the best of. Additionally, where our need is to make the structurally important tissues which are so important to chronic age-related degenerative diseases, the big problem is how to replace the bulk material of tissue fabric: the failing or worn-out ECM. As we move forward in this aim, it is clear that reliance on culturing cells alone will not achieve the bulk or the controlled architecture we need. This has led this group to propose that we start to develop direct TE processes. Direct fabrication involves cell-independent production of tissue-like collagen materials as their structural base. Once we embark on the quest to understand the mechanisms to do this, it is striking as to how easily a logical strategy can be plotted. This involves determining the building blocks to be used (molecular collagen or synthetic sequences) and establishing techniques to control fibril density, diameter, and alignment. This analysis suggests that these targets and approaches are perfectly feasible, and in some cases suitable technologies are closer than we think.
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