Molecular dynamics study of the interfacial mechanical properties of the graphene–collagen biological nanocomposite

The reinforcement of biological polymers, such as collagen, with nanoscale fillers for use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is a promising research area that is just beginning to be explored. We study the mechanical properties of Type I collagen embedded with graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) as an important template employed in tissue repair. The graphene–collagen interfacial bonding properties play a significant role during load transfer in the nanocomposite and, hence, as the primary goal of this work, a set of pull-out studies, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, are performed to characterise the interfacial mechanical properties. The dependence of the pull-out force on the presence of ripples on the surface of the GNRs, arising due to thermal fluctuations, is also examined, as well as the influence of the pull-out velocity.