Improving collagen processing towards a greener approach: current progress.

Abstract

The high market demand for collagen as a biomaterial has prompted additional studies into improved methods of collagen extraction without sacrificing the overall quality of collagen. The use of clean technology for sustainable collagen extraction has recently gained popularity due to its efficiency and minimal waste production. This review focuses on improving collagen processing based on three essential steps: pre-treatment (fermentation, high shear mechanical homogenisation, ultrasound), extraction (ultrasound-assisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, physical-aided extraction, and supercritical fluid technology), and recovery (ultrafiltration). This review also summarises the benefits and drawbacks of the emerging green technologies used in each step to obtain collagen. This study shows that these clean technologies eliminate the need for excessive chemicals and shortens processing time. However, each collagen-processing step must be carefully controlled to preserve structural integrity, which influences collagen's properties and hence its uses for further applications.