Collagen biomaterials and methods for manufacturing collagen biomaterials

A method of manufacturing a layer comprising an array of fibres of collagen, the method comprising:

• providing a suspension of insoluble collagen fibres;
• providing a layer deposition interface;
• applying an electric field across the suspension to cause electrophoretic deposition of the insoluble collagen fibres at the layer deposition interface, thereby building up a layer comprising deposited collagen,
• wherein the layer deposition interface is provided by a membrane or scaffold having opposing major surfaces, the membrane or scaffold being supported by the suspension by at least one of the major surfaces of the membrane or scaffold being in contact with the suspension, and wherein the method further comprises causing relative movement, in a relative movement direction, between the layer deposition interface and the suspension, thereby causing alignment of the collagen fibres in the layer, the fibres being substantially aligned within the layer along a first in-plane direction substantially parallel to the relative movement direction.