Table 1.
Properties of l,4-Butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDGE) cross-linked with 10% w/w porcine Type I collagen hydrogels content. Data were run in triplicate (n = 3) and expressed as mean (relative standard error %) and repeated for three independent experiments.
| Properties | Human cornea | Type 1 porcine collagen | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control EDC/NHS | BDDGE | BDDGE-EDC/NHS | ||
| pH | - | 5 | 11 | 5 |
| Optical properties | ||||
| Refractive index | 1.37–1.38 [24] | 1.35 | 1.35 | 1.35 |
| White light transmission (%) | >85 [25] | 82.1 (2.1%) | 86 (1.3%) | 86 (1.3%) |
| Backscatter (%) | 6.0-8.0 [25] | 2.8 (10.3%) | 1.9 (6%) | 0.4 (43%) |
| Mechanical properties | ||||
| Tensile strength (MPa) | 3.8 [26] | 0.19 (3%) | 0.21 (2.7%) | 0.44 (1.3%) * |
| Elongation at break (%) | - | 23.13 (2%) | 14.02 (0.7%) * | 147 (15.7%) * |
| Young ’s modulus (MPa) | 3.0–13.0 [27] | 1.88 (6.4%) | 2.86 (1.6%) * | 2.69 (2.8%) * |
| Thermal stability | ||||
| Denaturation temperature (°C) | 65.1 [28] | 46.8 | 52.9 | 53.6 |
| Water content (%) | 80 [29] | 91 | 92 | 92 |
* Denotes significant difference (p < 0.05) when compared against the EDC/NHS control.