A COLLAGEN-POLYPYRROLE HYBRID - INFLUENCE OF 3-BUTANESULFONATE SUBSTITUTION

Hybrid biomaterials derived from a water-soluble derivative of polypyr role, poly[sodium 4-(3-pyrrolyl)butanesulfonate], and soluble collagen have been synthesized by chemical polymerization of the 4-(3-pyrrolyl )butanesulfonate monomer in a collagen solution. Interaction between t he two polymers was evident in the formation of a precipitated black p olymer-collagen gel obtained for a monomer concentration of 0,01 mol/L . The collagen content in the gel was determined to be around 38 wt-%. When the monomer concentration was increased five-fold, the product w as a dispersed precipitate that was polymer rich with a corresponding decrease in collagen (11 wt-%) content. Fourier transform infrared spe ctroscopy and thermal analysis of the hybrids provide signs of interac tion between the sulfonic acid group on the substituted pyrrole and si de groups of amino acids in collagen. The electrical conductivities of these hybrid biomaterials were found to be in the 10(-2) S cm(-1) ran ge.