Metal-chelated biomaterial from collagen extracted from pleco skin (Pterygoplichthys pardalis)

Abstract Collagen is a material which is recognized for its biocompatibility properties, biodegradability and low antigenicity, allowing it to be used for the creation of different materials as composites, scaffolds or hydrogels. However, collagen-based materials fail to provide useful mechanical properties in a final product. In this regard, it has been reported that the addition of metallic ions contributes towards supporting polymer matrices. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of metallic ions incorporation on the mechanical properties of biomaterials based on collagen from Pterygoplichthys pardalis and sodium polyacrylate (PAAS). It was observed that the addition of metallic ions modified the mechanical properties of biomaterials out of collagen and sodium polyacrylate (Co-PAAS). The greatest tensile force was achieved when 0.09 mg of collagen and 0.003 mol of Fe 3+ /g Co-PAAS were used. On the other hand, the greatest elongation at break was achieved when the biomaterial was synthesized with 0.09 mg of collagen and 0.002 mol of K 1+ /g Co-PAAS. Also, the highest value for Young’s modulus was found when the biomaterial was synthesized with 0.05 mg of collagen and 0.002 mol of Fe 3+ /g Co-PAAS and 0.003 mol of K 1+ /g Co-PAAS. Finally, it was concluded that P. pardalis could be a collagen source for the development of biomaterials due to its electrostatic interactions with metallic ions increasing the mechanical properties of the processed material significantly.