Marine Spongia collagens: Protein characterization and evaluation of hydrogel films

Abstract

Fibrous proteins such as collagens are important raw materials for the production of new bio‐based or biomimetic materials. A rich source of collagen is found in the extracellular skeletal matrix of marine or sea sponges, an anatomically simple animal species. This abundant source of collagens was explored for its potential to create a hydrogel suitable as a biomaterial for drug delivery and tissue engineering. Collagen proteins were extracted from the skeletons of hard and soft species of sponges from the Spongia genus. The protein profile, amino acid composition, and partial sequences of the extracted proteins were determined, and the protein extracts were fabricated with chitosan and organic cross‐linkers to create hydrogel films. The amino acid compositions and sequences of Spongia collagens are similar to collagens obtained from other species. Spongia collagens are hydrophilic and mechanically fragile. Blending these with chitosan and the organic crosslinkers, genipin and glyceraldehyde, formed blended films with improved mechanical performance and structural integrity and improved stress–strain and water swelling characteristics. These material properties show the potential of the films to be used as hydrogel biomaterials in medical applications. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47996.

Potential Biomedical Applications of Collagen Filaments derived from the Marine Demosponges Ircinia oros (Schmidt, 1864) and Sarcotragus foetidus (Schmidt, 1862)

“…Another very interesting fact that emerged in this study is the high level of aspartic acid content in sponge filaments compared to vertebrate collagen. This last feature, already described in several other poriferan collagens [21,[33][34][35], is again something peculiar in the context of sponge collagens, and it could explain their difficulty in being solubilised in acidic conditions, contrary to the collagens of higher organisms.…”

Cytotoxic Compounds of Two Demosponges (Aplysina aerophoba and Spongia sp.) from the Aegean Sea

“…Additionally, Spongia sp. have recently been studied as an alternative source of collagen which is found in their extracellular skeletal matrix [ 17 ].…”

“…Sponges of the genus Spongia are unarmored, soft to firm, and compressible. They have a skeletal network of primary fibers, and they are a rich source of collagen proteins [ 16 , 17 ]. They mainly produce terpenes (sesquiterpene quinones, diterpenes, furanoterpenes, sesterterpenes), sterols, macrolides, and alkaloids [ 15 ].…”

Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Properties of Type I Collagen–Chitosan Mixed Hydrogels: A Review

“…Type I collagen was present in a majority of cases from animal sources (rat tails, pork skin) and in the form of tropocollagen. Initial solutions were most often prepared at concentrations of 5-10 mg•mL −1 in an acetic acid buffer of 0.1 M. Collagen extracted from marine sponges, human-like collagen (HLC), a recombinant protein with a high sequence similarity with collagen but lacking some post-translational modifications such as glycosylation, and collagen hydrolysates were associated with chitosan [34][35][36]. Hydrochloric acid solutions and a 2-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid (MES) buffer were used as alternative media for collagen dissolution [37,38].…”