A Molecular Level Investigation of Dialdehyde Starch Interaction with Collagen for Eco-friendly Stabilization

Abstract

The current study investigates Dialdehyde Starch (DAS) as a stabilizing agent for collagen. DAS is a well established crosslinking agent for protein; however, molecular interaction with collagen was not elucidated. Dialdehyde involves in the formation of inter and intra crosslinking with protein which renders higher stability against heat and enzyme. Crosslinking efficiency of DAS with collagen was found to increase with increase in the concentration. DAS interacted collagen membrane exhibited an increase in the thermal stability of about 35oC at pH 8. Swelling degree of collage-DAS membranes were found to decrease with increase in theconcentration of DAS owing to the shift in the nucleation behavior in collagen fibrillogenesis. DAS treated collagen membrane shows 90% resistance to collagenase due to the unavailability of cleaving sites in collagen-DAS fibres. Reconstittued collage-DAS collagen membranes showed increase in cell proliferation which signifies its non-toxic characteristics. Therefore, DAS can be a new class of green tanning agent for skin stabilization and also finds applications in scaffold preparation.