Effect of irradiation on collagen solutions in relation to biomedical applications.

The aim of this work was to investigate physico-chemical properties of collagen solutions and evaluate the influence of ionizing radiation on: formation of collagen gels, thermal stability of protein, amino acid composition and cross-linking of collagen. Collagen soluble in acetic acid was prepared from bovine Achilles tendons by the enzymatic (pepsin) method. The results obtained in this study are discussed in view of the possible use of radiation cross-linked collagen for the biomaterials.