Reinforcing Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Atelocollagen with Sustainable Supercritical-Enhanced Cross-Linking for Bioelectronics

The growing demand for biocompatible and eco-friendly materials in bioelectronics has highlighted collagen as a promising candidate due to its excellent biochemical properties. To address the limitations of native collagen in bioelectronic applications, we developed a supercritical-enhanced cross-linking (SECL) strategy that synergistically integrates chemical cross-linking with supercritical treatment. This eco-friendly, low-temperature process effectively reinforces the collagen network while simultaneously removing residual cross-linkers that typically compromise the electrical performance. The treated atelocollagen films exhibit a 28.9% increase in tensile strength and a 69.6% improvement in elongation at break, along with a 50% reduction in the enzymatic degradation rate. Remarkably, the leakage current decreased by nearly 38 times and the capacitance remained stable over a wide frequency range, demonstrating significantly enhanced dielectric properties. Cytotoxicity tests further confirm the excellent biocompatibility. These results validate SECL as a scalable and sustainable solution for engineering high-performance, collagen-based bioelectronic materials with improved structural integrity, electrical insulation, and biological safety.