Abstract: An implantable collagen-based material is prepared by (i) pretreating a collagen-based material with a member selected from the group consisting of fluorescein isothiocyanate, picrylsulphonic acid and nitrous acid, in an amount sufficient to render some of the amino acid side chains of the material unable to bind with a cross-linking agent, and (ii) reacting the pretreated collagen-based material with a cross-linking agent whereby at least some of the remaining amino acid side chains are linked together.