Improved performance of collagen scaffolds crosslinked by Traut's reagent and Sulfo-SMCC

Collagen scaffolds are frequently employed for applications in regenerative medicine. In previous studies, we affirmed that Traut's reagent (2-Iminothiolane hydrochloride) and Sulfo-SMCC (4-(N-Maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid 3-sulpho-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester sodium salt) could covalently bind growth factors on collagen scaffolds. We also observed that crosslinking formed within the collagen scaffolds with excess dosage of Sulfo-SMCC, which improved the biological performance of collagen scaffolds together with growth factors. In order to evaluate changes in capacity caused by crosslinking, Traut's reagent and adjusted different concentrations of Sulfo-SMCC (0.263, 1.315, 2.63 and 5.26 mM) were used to construct collagen scaffolds with differing extents of crosslinking in this study. The results demonstrated that resistance of collagen scaffolds to enzymatic digestion, cellularization and vascularization in vivo were enhanced by the crosslinking procedure. The cell culture studies indicated that the crosslinking procedure did not influence biocompatibility. Moreover, there were no statistical differences in the degradation rate, cellularization or vascularization among 1.315, 2.63 and 5.26 mM crosslinked groups. These results demonstrated that crosslinking collagen scaffolds with an appropriate amount of Traut's reagent and Sulfo-SMCC was an effective and safe method to modify naturally derived collagen scaffolds with notable potential uses in tissue regeneration.