Type-I collagen is a promising biomaterial that can be used to synthesize bioscaffolds as a strategy to regenerate and repair damaged tendons. The existing in vitro prepared collagen bioscaffolds are in the form of gels, foams, or extruded fibers. These bioscaffolds readily present sites for attachment of biological factors and cells;​ however, they have extremely poor biomechanical properties in comparison to the properties of native tendons. The biomechanical function of type-I collagen bioscaffolds needs to be elevated to the level of natural tissues for this biomaterial to replace mechanically challenged tendons in a functionally meaningful way. The overall goal of this dissertation is to develop a reinforced electrochemically aligned collagenous bioscaffold for applications in tendon tissue engineering. The bioscaffold is synthesized by a unique electrochemical process via isoelectric focusing (IEF) to attain a very high degree of molecular alignment and packing density. This dissertation presents progress made on four aims:​ A) development of simple and descriptive electrochemical theory via the mathematical model of IEF and the forces acting on collagen alignment under an electric field;​ B) optimization of the post-alignment PBS treatment step to achieve d- banding pattern in uncrosslinked electrochemically aligned collagen (ELAC) bioscaffolds;​ C) optimization of the best crosslinking protocol to produce the strongest possible ELAC biomaterial with excellent cellular compatibility;​ and D) in vivo evaluation of the biocompatibility and biodegradability properties of electronically aligned collagen bioscaffolds.

The results of this dissertation provide strong evidence showing that reinforced ELAC bioscaffolds could be used clinically in the future to repair damaged tendons.