Dehydrothermal (DHT) treatment was used to improve the properties of collagen casings because of its non-cytotoxicity. Understanding the effects of DHT treatment on the structure and mechanical properties of collagen films is beneficial to developing satisfying collagen casings. Herein, DHT treatment with various temperatures (85-145 °C) and timescales (1-7 days) were investigated. It was clarified that the chemical crosslinking covalent bond between collagen molecules was formed after the DHT treatment. Crosslinking density increased with increasing DHT treatment temperatures, contributing to the increase of tensile strength up to over three times of that of the untreated collagen film. The increased crosslinking density was also found when increasing the DHT treatment time, and the maximum was obtained in 3 days. Further DHT treatment time did not change the crosslinking density. The damage in the triple helix structure and the self-assembly of collagen molecules were observed from IR and SAXS. The extent of denaturation increased with increasing DHT treatment temperature and time, although the effect of the DHT treatment time on the denaturation was more moderate. When the DHT treatment temperature was as high as 145 °C or the DHT treatment time exceeded 5 days, serious denaturation occurs, leading to the deterioration of mechanical properties.
Keywords: collagen film; crosslinking; dehydrothermal treatment; denaturation; mechanical property; structure.