The mesoscale components of collagen (nanofibrils, fibrils, and fiber bundles) are well organized in native tissues, resulting in superior properties and diverse functions. In this paper, we present a simple and controlled liquid exfoliation method to directly extract medium-sized collagen fibers ranging from 102 to 159 nm in diameter from bovine Achilles tendon using urea/hydrochloric acid and a deep eutectic solvent (DES). In situ observations under polarized light microscopy (POM) and molecular dynamics simulations revealed the effects of urea and GuHCl on tendon collagen. FTIR study results confirmed that these fibrils retained the typical structural characteristics of type I collagen. These shed collagen fibrils were then used as building blocks to create independent collagen membranes with good and stable mechanical properties, excellent barrier properties, and cell compatibility. A new method for collagen processing is provided in this work by using DES-assisted liquid exfoliation for constructing robust collagen membranes with mesoscale collagen fibrils as building blocks.
Keywords: bovine Achilles tendon; collagen; deep eutectic solvent; exfoliation; fibrils.