Novel elastic material from collagen for tissue engineering.

Elastic collagen gel (e-gel) was prepared from salmon atelocollagen fibrillar gel reinforced by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) mediated cross-linking (f-gel). The preparation consisted of a simple heat treatment of the f-gel at 80 degrees C, in which the f-gel drastically shrank and the collagen fibril structure was deformed. The e-gel obtained showed rubber-like elasticity; its stress-strain behavior little changed through repeated stretching. The elongation at the breaking point was approximately 230%. Furthermore, normal human osteoblasts showed good attachment and proliferation on the e-gel. These results suggest its potential to be utilized for the development of tissue engineering.