A bio-based composite will be produced utilizing collagen and a vegetable oil polymer.  Because of collagen’s high tensile strength and its bio-availability, it is thought to be a good source in producing a high-strength composite.  Collagen has been purified from bovine tendon following a standard purification protocol.  Collagen-based peptides have also been synthesized via solid-phase peptide synthesis using sequences which mimic those of type I collagen. Mimics of the collagen triple helix will be produced via common equilibration techniques.   Circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD) will be utilized to determine the structure and thermal stability of the synthesized collagen mimics as well as the natural protein.  The CD data will confirm that the synthesized collagen exhibits the known triple helical structure.  Once all samples are characterized, they will be integrated into the vegetable oil polymer and will have their mechanical properties tested. Progress made toward these research endeavors will be reported.

Biobased composites produced from collagen and vegetable oil polymers

249th National Meeting (2015)

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