Table 2.
Properties of BDDGE cross-linked, 18% w/w porcine Type I collagen hydrogels (n = 3 samples per group). Data are 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 | YIGSR | IKVAV | ||
| pH | - | 5 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Optical properties | ||||||
| White light transmission (%) | >85 [25] | 85.67 (0.8%) | 81.07 (0.7%) | 84.17 (0.8%) | 84.03 (1.3%) | 82.10 (0.8%) |
| Mechanical properties | ||||||
| Tensile strength (MPa) | 3.8 [26] | 0.12 (14.4%) | 0.10 (17.3%) | 0.16 (7.2%) | 0.13 (4.4%) | 0.17 (44%) |
| Elongation at break (%) | - | 44.52 (24.4%) | 16.63 (6.2%) * | 120.48 (9.3%) * | 23.81 (5.9%) | 44.76 (2.6%) |
| Young’s modulus (MPa) | 3.0-13.0 [27] | 0.64 (39.6%) | 1.21 (15.7%) * | 0.21 (8.2%) * | 0.98 (1.7%) | 0.55 (46%) |
| Thermal properties | ||||||
| Denaturation temperature (°C) | 65.1 [28] | 49.1 | 65.9 | 49.5 | 47.2 | 55.0 & 64.4 |
* Denotes significant difference (p < 0.05) when compared against the EDC/NHS benchmark.