Interaction of collagen and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) in blends

The interaction between collagen and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) in blends has been studied by viscometry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It was found that the amide A and amide I bands position in FTIR spectra of collagen were shifted after blending with PVP to higher wavenumbers. DSC measurements showed different melting temperature, glass transition temperature and enthalpy for the blends and for the single components. Viscosity measurements showed interaction between collagen and PVP also in a dilute water solution. The results have shown, that the interactions between collagen and PVP exist due to the strong interactions between the synthetic and biological component, mainly by hydrogen bonds. These interactions caused that collagen and PVP are miscible at molecular level. The blending of collagen with PVP may give the possibility of producing new materials for potential biomedical applications.