Effects of photochemical crosslinking on the microstructure of collagen and a feasibility study on controlled protein release

Photochemical crosslinking is an emerging technique able to modify the physicochemical properties of collagen. However, whether this technique can be used to modify collagen-based structures for drug delivery has not been studied. This study demonstrated that the microporous structure of photochemically crosslinked collagen was affected by rose Bengal and laser energy level. Using the optimized process parameters, the authors fabricated photochemically crosslinked collagen structures encapsulated with sample proteins and demonstrated that photochemical crosslinking reduced the initial burst effect and protein release without compromising the protein bioactivity. The fiber meshwork in collagen structures was also characterized, and it was found that photochemical crosslinking did not significantly alter the mesh size. This study reports the effects of photochemical crosslinking on the microstructure of collagen structures and suggests the feasibility of using photochemically crosslinked collagen structures for controlled protein release.