Cross-Linked Collagen-Based Scaffold: Anti-infective Potential, Hydrophilic, and Biocompatible

Porcine decellularized dermal matrix (pADM) was a type of collagen-based medical scaffold material with excellent biological properties. Because of the lack of antibacterial properties, the wound infection caused by bacteria during the treatment process greatly affected the recovery and even the life safety of patients. In this paper, a creative design idea of antimicrobial material was proposed based on free radical polymerization reaction. The amphoteric monomer sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) was employed to cross-link with methacrylated pADM (MA-pADM) by free radical polymerization to obtain cross-linked pADM grafted with amphoteric ions (C-MA-SBMA-pADM). The collagen scaffold after cross-linking had sufficient collagen stability, proper mechanical properties, and retained the natural structure of collagen while introducing hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups and quaternary ammonium groups, and C-MA-SBMA-pADM exhibited excellent hydrophilic properties by water contact angle detection. The results of cellular experiments showed that the scaffold had good cytocompatibility. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used to test the antibacterial properties of the material, and the results showed that the cross-linked C-MA-SBMA-pADM had good antibacterial effects. In conclusion, a cross-linked collagen-based scaffold was prepared with good mechanical properties, cytocompatibility, and also excellent antibacterial properties, which was expected to be more widely used in the field of tissue engineering scaffold materials.