Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. <i>In vivo</i>, collagen is often spatially arranged as aligned fibers. For example, collagen fibers in the cornea are aligned in a highly specific manner for functional optical activity. <i>In vitro</i>, collagen can be self-assembled into higher order structures. These hierarchical collagen networks, however, lack the alignment found in natural tissues. Using mica as a template, aligned arrays of collagen can be created due to the self-assembly of collagen along the crystallographic orientation of the muscovite substrate. Potassium ions, which disturb the interaction between the collagen and mica substrate, were used to control the pattern of the collagen alignment to create unidirectional and bidirectional oriented films. This reversible synthesis of patterned films from randomly arranged collagen was observed in real-time via atomic force microscopy in fluid. This study demonstrates the mobility and reorganization of collagen on surfaces and its preference for specific arrangements under varying environmental conditions. These patterned films provide tremendous flexibility in future bioengineering applications, such as templates in synthesizing biomimetic materials.

Dynamics of patterned collagen deposition observed by atomic force microscopy

254th National Meeting (2017)

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