Valorization of Fish Waste: Isolation and Characterization of Acid- and Pepsin-Soluble Collagen from the Scales of Mediterranean Fish and Fabrication of Collagen-Based Nanofibrous Scaffolds

• Published in: Marine Drugs
• Main Authors: Leto-Aikaterini Tziveleka, Stefanos Kikionis, Labros Karkatzoulis, Kostas Bethanis, Vassilios Roussis, Efstathia Ioannou
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022
• Subjects: fish scales; marine collagen; acid-soluble collagen; pepsin-soluble collagen; nanofibers; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Ulvan; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/md20110664; https://doaj.org/article/2cd0c682f4a246409d9b185c274879e6

In search of alternative and sustainable sources of collagenous materials for biomedical applications, the scales of five Mediterranean fish species—fished in high tonnage in the Mediterranean region since they represent popular choices for the local diet—as well as those of the Atlantic salmon for comparison purposes, were comparatively studied for their acid- and pepsin-soluble collagen content. Fish scales that currently represent a discarded biomass of no value could be efficiently exploited for the production of a high added-value biomaterial. The isolated collagenous materials, which showed the typical electrophoretic patterns of type I collagen, were morphologically and physicochemically characterized. Using scanning electron microscopy the fibrous morphology of the isolated collagens was confirmed, while the hydroxyproline content, in conjunction with infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies verified the characteristic for collagen amino acid profile and its secondary structure. The acid- and pepsin-soluble collagens isolated from the fish scales were blended with the bioactive sulfated marine polysaccharide ulvan and polyethylene oxide and electrospun to afford nanofibrous scaffolds that could find applications in the biomedical sector.