Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T12:37:19.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Microaligned collagen matrices by hydrodynamic focusing: controlling the pH-induced self-assembly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Sarah Köester ,
Jennie B Leach ,
Thomas Pfohl  and
Joyce Y Wong
Sarah Köester
Affiliation:
sarah.koester@mpi-sf.mpg.de, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Dynamics of Complex Fluids, Bunsenstrasse 10, Goettingen, N/A, 37073, Germany
Jennie B Leach
Affiliation:
jleach@umbc.edu, United States
Thomas Pfohl
Affiliation:
thomas.pfohl@ds.mpg.de, Germany
Joyce Y Wong
Affiliation:
jywong@bu.edu, United States
Get access

Abstract

The hierarchical structure of type I collagen fibrils is a key contributor to the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM). It is known that the process of in vitro fibrillogenesis strongly depends on the pH of the collagen solution. To date, there are few methods available for precisely controlling and investigating the dependence of collagen fibril assembly on the local pH. The objective of this work was to create highly defined pH gradients to systematically determine the effects of local pH on microscale collagen fibrillogenesis and alignment. We use a microfluidic mixing device to create a diffusion controlled pH gradient, which in turn initiates the self-assembly and concurrent flow-alignment of soluble collagen. Finite element method simulations of the hydrodynamic and diffusive phenomena are used to calculate the local concentrations of the components involved in the reaction. We develop a model to analytically calculate the local pH in the microfluidic device from these concentrations. A comparison with the experimental results from polarized light microscopy are in good agreement with the simulations.

Keywords

self-assemblybiomimetic (assembly)simulation
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 898: Symposium L – Mechanical Behavior of Biological and Biomimetic Materials , 2005 , 0898-L05-21
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[1] Freytes, D.O., Badylak, S.F., Webster, T.J., Geddes, L.A., and Rundell, A.E., Biomaterials 25, 2353 (2004).Google Scholar
[2] Stamm, C., Khosravi, A., Grabow, N., Schmohl, K., Treckmann, N., Drechsel, A., Nan, M., Schmitz, K.P., Haubold, A., and Steinho®, G., Ann. Thorac. Surg. 78, 2084; discussion 2092–2093 (2004).Google Scholar
[3] Boland, E.D., Matthews, J.A., Pawlowski, K.J., Simpson, D.G., Wnek, G.E., and Bowlin, G.L., Front. Biosci. 9, 1422 (2004).Google Scholar
[4] McPherson, J.M., Wallace, D.G., Sawamura, S.J., Conti, A., Condell, R.A., Wade, S., and Piez, K.A., Coll. Relat. Res. 5, 119 (1985).Google Scholar
[5] Christiansen, D.L., Huang, E.K., and Silver, F.H., Matrix Biol. 19, 409 (2000).Google Scholar
[6] Otten, A., Köster, S., Struth, B., Snigirev, A., and Pfohl, T., J. Synchrotron Rad. 12, 745 (2005).Google Scholar
[7] Atkins, P.W.,Physical Chemistry (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998), pp. 946–948.Google Scholar
[8] Köster, S., Leach, J.B., Struth, B., Pfohl, T., and Wong, J.Y., submitted.Google Scholar
[9] Xia, Y. and Whitesides, G., Ann. Rev. Mat. Sci. 28, 153 (1998).Google Scholar
[10] Pfohl, T., Mugele, F., Seemann, R., and Herminghaus, S. ChemPhysChem 4, 1291 (2003).Google Scholar
[11] Knight, J.B., Vishwanath, A., Brody, J.P., and Austin, R.H., Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 3863 (1998).Google Scholar
[12] Hong, Z., Chasan, B., Bansil, R., Turner, B.S., Bhaskar, K.R., and Afdhal, N.H., Biomacro-molecules 6, 3458 (2005).Google Scholar