Properties of Tilapia Collagen as a Biomaterial for Tissue Engineering: A Review

Abstract

Collagen is one of the common biopolymers used as a biomaterial in tissue engineering applications due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability properties. Collagen derived from various sources and mostly found in porcine and bovine skin. However, due to religious concerns and the dangers of animal-borne diseases possesses by these mammalian derived collagens, marine collagens are extensively investigated as an alternative to substitute mammalian collagens in tissue engineering applications. Among those marine collagens, tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) collagens are known to have a great potential to be used as biomaterials for tissue engineering application due to its higher thermal stability compared to other marine sources. Therefore, this study aims to review chemical and biological properties of tilapia collagen as a biomaterial for tissue engineering applications. The contents are mainly focused on the extraction yield, amino acid composition, thermal stability, cross-linking, biocompatibility, biodegradability, immunogenicity and hemostasis of tilapia collagen.