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Published on: June 16, 2015
Preclinical Comparison of an Injectable In-Situ Scaffold-Forming Oligomeric Collagen for Soft Tissue Volume
Rachel A Morrison1, Christopher Park2, Lujuan Zhang2
1Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
Introduction:
Dermal fillers are widely used to restore facial volume, yet current materials often exhibit swelling, inflammatory responses, or limited persistence.
Objective:
To compare rheological and extrusion properties, volumetric persistence, and local tissue response of an injectable, in-situ scaffold-forming oligomeric collagen with a commercially available hyaluronic acid filler and saline in a rat model.
Methods:
Oligomeric collagen was administered by subcutaneous injection, with commercial filler and saline as controls. Animals were evaluated at 1, 6, and 12 weeks using three-dimensional volumetric scanning and histopathological analyses. Rheological, compressive, and extrusion properties were measured. Statistical comparisons used one-way analysis of variance or Student's t-tests.
Results:
In this 12-week rat study, oligomer demonstrated low extrusion force and stable scaffold volumes after equilibration. Extrusion force was similar to saline and ∼15-fold lower than the commercial filler. Scaffold volumes were ∼25% of the injected volume and remained stable from 1 to 12 weeks. The commercial filler exhibited swelling (∼400%) at 1 week, followed by ∼83% volume loss. Histological analysis showed minimal inflammatory response with scaffold integration, whereas the commercial filler exhibited regional inflammation and fibrous capsule formation.
Conclusions:
Injectable scaffold-forming oligomer exhibited low extrusion force, persistent volume, and minimal local tissue response over 12 weeks.
