Abstract

Thermal stability measured as area shrinkage without tension during heating was determined for membranes of collagen fibrils reconstituted from solutions of highly purified rat skin collagen. Shrinkage in per cent of area at 25 °C and shrinkage temperature were quantitated in a standardized way and determined as a function of in vitro maturation time from 11 to 104 days after aggregation for the collagen membranes. Similar to reports on intact rat skin, shrinkage temperature remained constant and shrinkage per cent declined with a rate decreasing with time during maturation. Solubility in water at 80 °C for 2 hours was 95–96% and remained unchanged for the maturation time (about 2 months) studied. The decreased shrinkage reflecting a lower degree of collapse is ascribed to an increasing thermal stability of the membranes during maturation. Development of heat-stable bonds in the reconstituted collagen fibrils is taken to be amenable to this increased stability. Similarity in changes of shrinkage characteristics during in vivo and in vitro maturation indicates that maturation changes in reconstituted collagen fibrils reflect those occurring in intact collagen during in vivo aging.

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