Collagen

 

 

General Collagen Information


Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body. Type I collagen is a major structural component of skin, bone, tendon, and other fibrous connective tissues. In our effort to provide an in vivo-like environment for cells, researchers will grow cells on inside collagen hydrogels or on top of collagen coatings. 

 

Forming a 3D Hydrogel from Collagen Type I


The following list provides general steps for forming 3D hydrogels from type I collagen. Full directions for use, and commonly asked questions are found on individual product pages.

  1. Concentration - Typical working concentrations for 3D hydrogels are > 1 mg/ml for Telocollagen, and 1.5 mg/ml for Atelocollagen.
  2. pH - Neutralize the collagen to a pH of ~7.0-7.4
  3. Osmolarity - The collagen salts should be isotonic (~300 mOsmo)
  4. Temperature - Warm collagen to 37°C after completing the above steps to form a 3D hydrogel.

 

 

Telo vs Atelo Collagen


Collagen is typically extracted from a wide variety of sources, such as cow hide, rat tails, or porcine tendon, to name a few. Typically, you can extract the collagen using acid, or with an enzyme.

Collagen extracted with acid will result in Telocollagen - meaning it has the telopeptide portion of the collagen molecule intact.

When extracted using an enzyme, the collagen molecule is cleaved at the junction of the triple-helix domain and the telopeptide. The resulting collagen is known as Atelocollagen (without the telopeptide).

Telocollagen, with the telopeptide domain, will be able to form 3D hydrogels much quicker, and stronger, than Atelocollagen, that lacks the telopeptide domain. (See 3D Hydrogel Stiffness section below)

Telocollagen is also generally perceived as being more "native," though it has been reported that the telopeptides can elicit an immune response during in vivo studies. 

 

3D Collagen Hydrogel Stiffness


The two main factors in determining 3D hydrogel stiffness are collagen concentration and telocollagen vs atelocollagen.
The higher the concentration, the firmer the hydrogel. PureCol, Nutragen and FibriCol are all the type I atelocollagen, except at varying concentrations (3, 6 and 10). 
Telocollagen hydrogels will polymerize significantly faster and form stronger hydrogels than their atelocollagen counterparts at similar concentrations. Note the difference between TeloCol-3 vsPureCol (both 3 mg/ml), and TeloCol-6 vs Nutragen (both 6 mg/ml).
To see the rest of the data, please read our whitepapers.

 

 

Type I Collagen Summary Chart


Below is a list of our Type I collagen products. Most can be used for 2D coatings, 3D hydrogels, suspensions, sponges, and 3D Bioprinting, and countless more applications, assays and uses. Here is a summary table of our collagen products to help sort everything out.

For a list of common cell assays using our collagen, visit here

Collagen Description Catalog Source Concentration Extraction Telo vs Atelo Applications
PureCol® Solution 5005 Bovine Skin 3 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Collagen Standard, Cell Assays
Nutragen® Solution 5010 Bovine Skin 6 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
FibriCol® Solution 5133 Bovine Skin 10 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
PureCol® EZ-Gel Solution (Pre-Neutralized) 5074 Bovine Skin ~5 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
PureCol® Lyophilized Powder 5006 Bovine Skin Powder Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
TeloCol®-3 Solution 5026 Bovine Skin 3 mg/ml Acid Telo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
TeloCol®-6 Solution 5225 Bovine Skin 6 mg/ml Acid Telo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
TeloCol®-10 Solution 5226 Bovine Skin 10 mg/ml Acid Telo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
RatCol® Solution for 2D Coatings 5056 Rat Tail Tendon 4 mg/ml Acid Telo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
RatCol® Solution for 3D Hydrogels 5153 Rat Tail Tendon 4 mg/ml Acid Telo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
VitroCol® Solution 5007 Human Fibroblast Culture 3 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, 3D Hydrogels, Cell Assays
VitroCol® Lyophilized Powder 5008 Human Fibroblast Culture Powder Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
Insoluble Lyophilized Fibrous Powder 5162 Bovine Tendon Powder Acid Telo Suspensions, Sponges, Coatings
Lifeink® 200 5278 Bovine Skin 35 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 3D Bioprinting, Cell and Drug Delivery
Lifeink® 220 5343 Bovine Skin 70 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 3D Bioprinting, Cell and Drug Delivery
Lifeink® 240 5267 Bovine Skin 35 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 3D Bioprinting, Cell and Drug Delivery
Lifeink® 260 5358 Bovine Skin 70 mg/ml Enzyme Atelo 3D Bioprinting, Cell and Drug Delivery
Collagen Coated T-25 Flasks 5029 Bovine Skin Coated Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
Collagen Coated 6-Well Plates 5073 Bovine Skin Coated Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
Collagen Coated 48-Well Plates 5181 Bovine Skin Coated Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
Collagen Coated 96-Well Plates 5072 Bovine Skin Coated Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
Collagen Coated 384-Well Plates 5380 Bovine Skin Coated Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays
Collagen Coated 100 x 20 mm Dishes 5028 Bovine Skin Coated Enzyme Atelo 2D Coatings, Cell Assays

Collagen Coated Plates

If you're looking type I collagen coated plates, please view our off-the-shelf PureCol collagen coated plates. PureCol is >99.9% pure collagen (bovine, atelocollagen), ensuring consistency and reliability across experiments. 

Our collagen coated plates include:

PureCol Collagen Coated T-25 Flasks

PureCol Collagen Coated 6-Well Plates

PureCol Collagen Coated 12-Well Plates

PureCol Collagen Coated 24-Well Plates

PureCol Collagen Coated 48-Well Plates

PureCol Collagen Coated 96-Well Plates

PureCol Collagen Coated 384-Well Plates

PureCol Collagen Coated 100 x 20 mm Dishes

 

There are quite a few considerations when choosing the right collagen product for your application. For example, it is not recommended to resuspend lyophilized atelocollagen for 3D hydrogel applications. For help choosing the right product, please email Support@AdvancedBioMatrix.com

Collagen Products