Ultrathin collagen type I films formed at the air-water interface

Abstract Collagen-based biomaterials with oriented fibrils have shown great application potential in medicine. However, it is still challenging to control the type I collagen fibrillogenesis ultrathin films. Here, we report an approach produce cohesive and well-organized films of about 10 nm thickness using Langmuir-Blodgett technique. Ellipsometry, rheology, Brewster angle microscopy are applied investigate situ how molecules behave at air-water interface, both room temperature 37 °C. The interfacial storage modulus observed vanishes upon heating, indicating existence disappearance network structure protein nanosheet. were spanning over holes as large 1 mm diameter when transferred temperature, proving strong interactions. A highly aligned fibrillar was by atomic force (AFM) optical microscopy. Graphical abstract