Influence of functionalized nanoparticles on conformational stability of type I collagen for possible biomedical applications

• Collagen–nanoparticle interactions are vital for biomedical applications
• Iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized with starch template were functionalized using Gum Arabic
• CD studies indicate that functionalization does not affect the conformation of collagen
• FT-IR study shows that NH2 groups of collagen interact with hydroxyl groups of functionalized NPs

Collagen–nanoparticle interactions are vital for many biomedical applications including drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. Iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized using starch template according to our earlier reported procedures were functionalized by treating them with Gum Arabic (GA), a biocompatible polysaccharide, so as to enhance the interaction between nanoparticle surfaces and collagen. Viscosity, circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques have been used to study the collagen–nanoparticle interactions. The relative viscosity for collagen–nanoparticle conjugate was found to increase with increase in concentration of the nanoparticle within the concentration range investigated, which is due to the aggregation of protein onto the surface of nanoparticle. The CD spectra for the collagen–nanoparticle at different concentration ratios do not have much variation in the Rpn values (ratio of positive peak intensity over negative peak intensity) after functionalization with GA. The variation of molar ellipticity values for collagen–nanoparticle is due to the glycoprotein present in GA. The collagen triple helical structure is maintained after interaction with nanoparticles. The FTIR spectra of native collagen, Coll–Fs (nanoparticle without functionalization) and Coll–FsG (nanoparticle functionalized with GA) show clearly the amide I, II, III bands, with respect to collagen. The ability of polysaccharide stabilized/functionalized nanoparticles to maintain the collagen properties would help in its biomedical applications.

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