Thanikaivelan Palanisamy

Collagen-poly(dialdehyde) guar gum based porous 3D scaffolds immobilized with growth factor for tissue engineering applications.

Here we report the preparation of collagen-poly(dialdehyde) guar gum based hybrid functionalized scaffolds covalently immobilized with platelet derived growth factor - BB for tissue engineering applications. Poly(dialdehyde) guar gum was synthesized from selective oxidation of guar gum using sodium periodate. The synthesized poly(dialdehyde) guar gum not only promotes crosslinking of collagen but also immobilizes the platelet derived growth factor through imine bonds. The covalent crosslinking formed in collagen improves thermal, swelling and biodegradation properties of the hybrid scaffolds. The prepared hybrid scaffolds show 3D interconnected honeycomb porous structure when viewed under a microscope. The release of immobilized platelet derived growth factor was seen up to 13th day of incubation thereby proving its sustained delivery. The developed hybrid scaffold leads to a quantum increase in NIH 3T3 fibroblast cell density and proliferation thereby demonstrating its potential for tissue engineering applications.

Conducting collagen-polypyrrole hybrid aerogels made from animal skin waste

We report the synthesis of conducting collagen-polypyrrole hybrid aerogels through an in situ oxidative polymerization technique coupled with freeze drying. FTIR, XRD and SEM analysis show the complete coating of polypyrrole on the collagen molecules during the polymerization process. These low density aerogels have varying degree of flexibility, brittleness, thermal stability, porosity, biocompatibility and electrical conductivity as a function of the concentration of polypyrrole in the aerogel matrix. The maximum conductivity of the collagen-polypyrrole aerogels is found to be 3.59 × 10−4 S cm−1 for the 100/100 wt% composition. We also demonstrate the ability of the as-synthesized aerogels to conduct electrons in a light emitting diode lamp and battery setup with varying extents of brightness. The results suggest that the developed collagen-polypyrrole aerogels have potential for biosensor, tissue engineering, electrostatic discharge protection and electromagnetic interference shielding applications.

Bifunctional Hybrid Composites from Collagen Biowastes for Heterogeneous Applications

We report the synthesis of an electrically conductive and magnetically active hybrid biocomposite comprising collagen and polyaniline (PAni) as the matrix and iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) as the filler through an in situ polymerization technique. Here, the matrix biopolymer, collagen, was extracted from trimmed wastes of animal hides generated from the leather industry. The as-synthesized C/PAni/IONP hybrid biocomposite powder possesses excellent electrical conductivity, thermal stability, and saturation magnetization, thereby providing scope for a wide range of applications. We show that the bifunctional composite has an ability to conduct electrons using a light emitting diode and battery setup, degrade dye under sunlight owing to its inherent photocatalytic activity, and absorb oil from oil–water mixtures with easier collection under magnetic tracking. We also demonstrate that the composite has remarkable electromagnetic interference shielding in the X-band frequency range. The results suggest that biowastes can be converted into useful high-value hybrid materials for applications in catalysis, biological, electronic, and environmental fields, thereby presenting a scalable and sustainable approach.