Electrospinning of pure, native, cross-linker free self-supported collagen membrane
Electrospinning (ES) is an extremely promising method for the preparation of self-supported membranes for tissue engineering by mimicking the 3D fibrillar structure of the extracellular matrix. Conflicting results about collagen ES in the literature concern the conditions of collagen solubilization to improve electrospinnability, and the use of co-polymers and chemical cross-linkers to stabilize the structure of collagen membranes. Here we report for the first time (1) the ES of pure and native collagen into a self-supported membrane in absence of polymer support and (2) the preservation of the membrane integrity in hydrated media in absence of crosslinker. We use a multiscale approach to characterize collagen native structure at the molecular level using synchrotron radiation circular dichroism, and to investigate collagen hierarchical organization within the self-supported membrane using electron and multiphoton microscopies. Finally, we show that the membranes are perfectly suited for cell adhesion and spreading, making very promising candidates for the development of advanced biomaterials.