Properties and modification of porous 3-D collagen/hydroxyapatite composites.

A freeze drying technique was used to form porous three-dimensional collagen matrixes modified by the addition of a variable amount of nano-hydroxyapatite. For chemical cross-linking EDC/NHS were used. Physical cross-linking was achieved by dehydrothermal treatment. Mechanical properties, morphology, dissolution, porosity, density, enzymatic degradation and swelling properties of materials have been studied after cross-linking. The density of scaffolds and its compressive modulus increased with an increasing amount of hydroxyapatite and collagen concentration in the composite scaffold, while the swelling ratio and porosity decreased. The studied scaffolds dissolved slowly in PBS solution. DHT cross-linked collagen matrices showed a much faster degradation rate after exposure to collagenase than the EDC cross-linked samples.