Characterization of collagen membranes with different
structures: potential materials for treatment of articular
cartilage injuries
A. C. M. Nozaki¹, A. F. Fraga2, R. F. C. Marques³, J. Marchi¹
¹ Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH), Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC),
Campus Santo André, SP, Brazil
2
Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Campus São Carlos, SP, Brazil
3
Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Campus Poços de Caldas, MG, Brazil
The cartilaginous tissue has unique characteristics that hinder the healing of wounds and
regenerating tissue formation (1,2). The literature presents some treatments for chondral
lesions, such as the removal of disease tissue associated with the stimulus to the fibrous
cicatrization and the condral transplant (3). However, the majority aims are based only to
relieve symptoms and few have been proven to be effective for regeneration. The collagen
based materials are studied as an alternative therapy for treatment of injuries of different
tissues, showing high efficiency also in the treatment of cartilage lesions (1,4). The aim of this
study was to characterize collagen membranes manufactured by PROCELL Biologics with
three different architecture types (monolayer, bilayer and trilayer) for potential application in
the treatment of articular cartilage injuries. Briefly described, all membranes were obtained
through processed bovine tendon. They have one or two layers with different porosities, so
that high mechanical strength can be combined with suitable environment for guidance and
growth of chondrocytes. Moreover, a third layer consists of a film of beta-TCP and
hydroxyapatite, which were incorporated into membrane in order to help the material/tissue
integration. The characterization of the membranes was performed using the techniques of
field emission gun (FEG) for analysis of the microstructure, morphology and porosity; X-ray
diffraction with Rietveld refinement for quantitative analysis of crystalline phases present in
the membranes; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for determination of
functional groups; amino acid analysis in order to characterize the collagen type. The results
showed that these collagen membranes can be used as potential materials for tissue
regeneration in lesions of articular cartilage.
Keywords: collagen scaffold, tissue regeneration, articular cartilage
Work supported by CNPq, FAPEMIG and FAPESP.
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Corresponding author: Juliana Marchi
R. Santa Adélia, 166, Bangu, Santo André, SP, 09210-170, Brazil
E-mail address: [email protected]