The structure of collagen--an X-ray study

A High-Performance Food Package Material Prepared by the Synergistic Crosslinking of Gelatin with Polyphenol-Titanium Complexes

This study aims to enhance gelatin film performance in the food industry by incorporating polyphenol-titanium complexes (PTCs) as crosslinkers. PTCs introduce multiple linkages with gelatin, including coordination and hydrogen bonds, resulting in synergistic crosslinking effects. This leads to an increased hydrodynamic volume, particle size, and thermal stability of the gelatin films. Compared to films crosslinked solely by polyphenols or titanium, PTC-crosslinked gelatin films exhibit significant improvements. They show enhanced mechanical properties with a tensile strength that is 1.7 to 2.6 times higher than neat gelatin films. Moreover, these films effectively shield UV light (from 82% to 99%), providing better protection for light-sensitive food ingredients and preserving lutein content (from 74.2% to 78.1%) under light exposure. The incorporation of PTCs also improves film hydrophobicity, as indicated by water contact angles ranging from 115.3° to 131.9° and a water solubility ranging from 31.5% to 33.6%. Additionally, PTC-enhanced films demonstrate a superior antioxidant ability, with a prolonged polyphenol release (up to 18 days in immersed water) and a higher free radical scavenging ability (from 22% to 25.2%). Overall, the improved characteristics of gelatin films enabled by PTCs enhance their performance, making them suitable for various food packaging applications.

Various Simulated Body Fluids Lead to Significant Differences in Collagen Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

This study aims to point out the main drawback with respect to the design of simulated body environments. Three media commonly used for the simulation of the identical body environment were selected, i.e., Kokubo’s simulated body fluid that simulates the inorganic component of human blood plasma, human blood plasma, and phosphate buffer saline. A comparison was performed of the effects of the media on collagen scaffolds. The mechanical and structural effects of the media were determined via the application of compression mechanical tests, the determination of mass loss, and image and micro-CT analyses. The adsorption of various components from the media was characterized employing energy-dispersive spectrometry. The phase composition of the materials before and after exposure was determined using X-ray diffraction. Infrared spectroscopy was employed for the interpretation of changes in the collagen secondary structure. Major differences in terms of the mechanical properties and mass loss were observed between the three media. Conversely, only minor structural changes were detected. Since no general recommendation exists for selecting the simulated body environment, it is necessary to avoid the simplification of the results and, ideally, to utilize alternative methods to describe the various aspects of degradation processes that occur in the media.

Isolation and characterization of collagen from the skin of Brama australis

Collagen was extracted from the skin of Brama australis, the fish from warm-water sea. The yield of collagen from skin of B. australis was about 1.5% on a wet weight basis of raw material. The isolated protein was confirmed as collagen by different physico-chemical techniques such as: FTIR, SDS-PAGE, and amino acid analysis. The denaturation temperature (T(d)) of obtained collagen was found to be 24°C, what is promising as an advantage for cosmetic application. According to the electrophoretic pattern, collagen consisted of two different α-chains (α1 and α2) and was classified as type I collagen. Although T(d) of obtained collagen is higher than 20 °C it is still far from T(d) of mammalian collagen.

Flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis studies on collagen Type I in acetic acid solution

An investigation of the photochemical properties of collagen Type I in acetic acid solution was carried out using nanosecond laser irradiation. The transient spectra of collagen solution excited at 266 nm show two bands. One of them with maximum at 295 nm and the second one with maximum at 400 nm. The peak at 400 nm is assigned to tyrosyl radicals. The first peak of the transient absorption spectra at 295 nm is probably due to photoionisation producing collagen radical cation. The transient for collagen solution in acetic acid at 640 nm was not observed. It is evidence that there is no hydrated electron in the irradiated collagen solution. The reactions of hydrated electrons and (*)OH radicals with collagen have been studied by pulse radiolysis. In the absorption spectra of products resulting from the reaction of collagen with e(aq)(-) no characteristic maximum absorption in UV and visible light region has been observed. In the absorption spectra of products resulting from the reaction of the hydroxyl radicals with collagen two bands have been observed. The first one at 320 nm and the second one at 405 nm. Reaction of (*)OH radicals with tyrosine residues in collagen chains gives rise to Tyr phenoxyl radicals (absorption at 400 nm).

Mechanical properties of UV irradiated rat tail tendon (RTT) collagen

The mechanical properties of RTT collagen tendon before and after UV irradiation have been investigated by mechanical testing (Instron). Air-dried tendon were submitted to treatment with UV irradiation (wavelength 254 nm) for different time intervals. The changes in such mechanical properties as breaking strength and percentage elongation have been investigated. The results have shown, that the mechanical properties of the tendon were greatly affected by time of UV irradiation. Ultimate tensile strength and ultimate percentage elongation decreased after UV irradiation of the tendon. Increasing UV irradiation leads to a decrease in Young's modulus of the tendon.

The use of X-ray scattering techniques to determine corneal ultrastructure

The manner in which X-rays are scattered or diffracted by the cornea provides us with valuable insights into the fine structure of the corneal stroma. This is because when X-rays pass through a cornea a diffraction pattern is formed due to scattering from regularly arranged collagen molecules and fibrils that comprise the bulk of the stromal matrix. Collagen provides the cornea with most of its strength, and its proper organisation is believed to be important for tissue transparency. Ever since 1978, when the first X-ray diffraction patterns were obtained from the cornea using radiation from a powerful synchrotron source, biophysicists have recorded and analysed a huge number of X-ray diffraction patterns from many different corneas. This article aims to explain the ideas that underpin our use of X-ray diffraction to investigate corneal ultrastructure, and show how the knowledge gained to date has far-reaching implications for tissue biomechanics, disease changes and transparency.

NMR and x-ray studies of collagen model peptides

The main structural component in collagen is the triple helix which is generally composed of the amino acid sequence repeat (X-Y-Gly)n with proline and hydroxyproline often present at positions X and Y. Non-globular, fibrillar proteins like most collagens are difficult to work with from a structural perspective. An alternative approach to collagen structural elucidation is to study considerably shorter fragments of the triple helix. To date, various triple helical model peptides such as (Pro-Pro-Gly)n and (Pro-Hyp-Gly)n have been investigated by various physical and spectroscopic techniques. The advent of easy solid phase peptide synthetic methodology and the development of multi-dimensional heteronuclear and high field NMR technologies have promoted significant advances in the structure elucidation of a number of triple helix peptides. Here, the main focus is to review and to address the current state of knowledge in the field of NMR and x-ray analysis of triple helical model peptides.

Phasing the meridional diffraction pattern of type I collagen using isomorphous derivatives

The meridional X-ray diffraction pattern of wet rat tail tendon contains information about the one-dimensional structure, or axial projection of electron density distribution of the type I collagen fibril. Using synchrotron radiation we have determined the intensities of the first 50 meridional X-ray diffraction reflections. The approach of isomorphous addition with reagents, selected using criteria of chemical reactivity, which label at fewer sites than the stains used in previous studies was applied to phase these 50 reflections to produce a one-dimensional electron density distribution map of a single D-repeat of the collagen fibril. This method is not model-dependent and thus constitutes the first unambiguous determination of the meridional phases of type I collagen.

Axial electron density of human scleral collagen. Location of proteoglycans by x-ray diffraction

The low angle meridional x-ray diffraction pattern from fresh human sclera was analyzed to ascertain if collagen-bound proteoglycans affect the axially-projected electron density distribution to the same extent as appears to occur in the cornea. The results showed that, unlike cornea, the electron density of the sclera is similar to that seen in rat tail tendon collagen. The proteoglycans were specifically stained using either Cuprolinic blue or Cupromeronic blue, both under critical electrolyte conditions. The tissue was then examined by electron microscopy and by low angle x-ray diffraction. The electron-optical observations suggested that proteoglycans associate with collagen near the d/e staining bands in the gap zone. A difference Fourier analysis from the x-ray results confirmed that these observations were not e.m. preparative artefacts and allowed a quantitative estimate to be made of the axial extent of the proteglycans in the wet tissue.

An X-ray diffraction analysis of rat tail tendons treated with Cupromeronic Blue

Cupromeronic Blue was used to stain selectively the proteoglycans in rat tail tendons under 'critical electrolyte' conditions. Earlier electron microscopical observations indicated that at least one type of proteoglycan filament is associated with tendon collagen fibrils at the positive staining band 'd'. To ensure that this was not an artefact caused by specimen preparation or the subsequent positive staining of the collagen fibrils, we have analysed low angle meridional diffraction patterns from stained but not dehydrated, embedded or counterstained tissues. Axial electron density profiles of Cupromeronic Blue-stained compared with unstained rat tail tendons revealed the axial locations and relative amounts of dye in both mature and young wet specimens. In mature tendons, the difference electron density profile contained a broad peak centred near residue 180 along the 234-residue D-period. This corresponds to the electron-optical staining band 'd'. In young tendons a similar distribution of stain was observed although in this case there was evidence of a doublet of peaks, one centred near residue 182 (band 'd') and the other near residue 165 (midway between bands d and e1). The wet proteoglycan--Cupromeronic Blue complexes distribute over about 30 nm along the collagen fibril axis. Comparison with the images of filaments seen in the electron microscope suggests that the dye complexes collapse significantly on dehydration and embedding.

X-ray diffraction effects related to superstructure in rat tail tendon collagen

A number of unusual X-ray diffraction effects concerning the meridional low angle reflections of collagen are presented which are due to structural inhomogeneities in the 100 micron range within the tendon such as are expected to be associated with the planar crimp structure of tendon units. These newly observed effects provide diffraction confirmation for such a crimped morphology. The effects consist of splitting of the reflections both azimuthally and radially. Azimuthal split varied with rotation of the tendon unit around its own axis and is directly related to the existence of the crimp, its angle and planarity. Radial splitting is a consequence of the limited sampling of the micro-structure by the collimator, which provides further support for the crimp morphology and conveys added information about the crimp form. It is shown that this limited sampling can provide a kind of "micro-X-ray topography" technique for the study of micro-textures on the appropriate dimensional level, while ti could be the source of misrepresentation if its origin remains unrecognized. The effect of stretching is examined and interpreted in terms of crimp straightening. Simultaneous examination of medium angle equatorial reflections, when combined with some electron micrographs point to further issues concerning the relation between the large scale and fibril substructure. It is believed that the present findings have general implications for structure research on collagen.

Interpretation of the small-angle X-ray diffraction of collagen in view of the primary structure of the alpha1 chain

The small-angle X-ray diffraction pattern of collagen has been calculated using the sequence of the alpha 1 chain and a Hodge-Petruska scheme for the packing of the collagen molecules. The molecular stagger giving the best fit of calculated-to observed structure factors has been found to be 236 or 237 amino acid residues for three tendon collagens. But this result depends on the appoximation that the molecular conformation is uniform throughout the molecule. A comparison of the observed and calculated electron density profiles in axial projection leads to a corrected model, in which the COOH-terminal telopeptide is contracted in a way suggesting a saddle-shaped electron density distribution near the collagenase site.

Improved profiles of electron density distribution along collagen fibrils

In order to evaluate fully the meaning of small-angle X-ray diffraction data from collagen fibers in terms of the distribution of molecular substance along fibrillar axes, it is necessary to have some means of determining the phase angles of the several components of the axial diffraction series for combination with measured amplitudes in the formulation of a Fourier series expressing the fibrillar electron density profile. This investigation has developed strip models for fibrillar axial structure based on reported electron micrographic descriptions of how stainable bands and molecular overlap zones ("backgrounds") are located along the fibrils. These models permit the calculation of phases for use with the experimental amplitudes. Once band descriptions (identical widths and density heights plus relative locations) were fixed, three parameters dealing with background width, height, and location were varied to refine the models until they were reasonably capable of accounting theoretically for the observed diffraction amplitudes. Further minor adjustments, indicated by the initial results, finally produced models and profiles for dry and moist kangaroo tail tendon (KTT). The results show that the X-ray and electron optical conclusions regarding collagen fibrillar axial structure are in essential agreement down to a resolution of about 45 A.