In vitro growth and differentiated activities of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts cultured on salmon collagen gel.

Marine-derived collagen is expected to be a much safer alternative to calf collagen, which in medical applications carries the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. In this study, acid-soluble collagen was extracted from salmon skin and crosslinked with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide during fibril formation to produce a crosslinked salmon collagen (SC) gel. The growth rates and the differentiated functions of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPdLFs) cultured on the SC gel were investigated.