• Collagen fibers extracted from the surface of the soft coral polyp Sarcophyton sp.: nature-inspired structure for the fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds
  • Zahra Katoli,1 Mona Navaei-Nigjeh,2,*
    1. Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences & Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
    2. Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center (PSRC), The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran/Department of Pharmaceutical Biomaterials and Medical Biomaterials Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences


  • Introduction: Collagen is the main component of the extracellular matrix and the most abundant protein in the human body, which is widely used in the fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds. Collagen solution is prepared during chemical processes, which destroy the native fibrillar structure of collagen, and its mechanical properties are reduced compared to native collagen. As a result, collagen-based scaffolds do not preserve the structure and mechanical properties of native collagen. To solve this challenge, we can take inspiration from nature. Over 3.8 billion years, nature has evolved objects highly efficiently using common materials. Understanding these processes and then being able to use and modify their mechanisms for the benefit of society leads to the improvement of many challenges.
  • Methods: Collagen fibers with a length of more than ten centimeters and a diameter of 5 to 10 micrometers were manually pulled out from the surface of the soft coral polyp Sarcophyton sp. and placed on the hydrogel with orientations desired to create a stable composite. This hydrogel can be made flat or tubular with a small diameter and used in various tissue engineering. This hydrogel was evaluated in terms of similarity to native collagen, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility.
  • Results: The amino acid content of these fibers was very similar to mammalian type I and II collagens, and the natural helical structure of collagen fibers was preserved in these extracted fibers. The mechanical properties of collagen fiber showed a superelastic behavior, and the elastic modulus increased with stress. The cell viability results showed that the coral collagen fibers were non-cytotoxic, and more than 80% of the cells survived.
  • Conclusion: This study showed that composites reinforced with collagen fibers extracted from soft coral exhibit superelastic behavior and biocompatible compositions similar to native tissues. This composite can be a promising candidate for various tissue engineering such as blood vessels, skin, nerves, etc.
  • Keywords: Inspiration – Coral – Collagen fiber – Tissue engineering