Nanomechanical mapping of hydrated rat tail tendon collagen I fibrils.

ABSTRACT: Collagen fibrils play an important role in the human body, providing tensile strength to connective tissues. These fibrils are characterized by a banding pattern with a D-period of 67 nm. The proposed origin of the D-period is the internal staggering of tropocollagen molecules within the fibril, leading to gap and overlap regions and a corresponding periodic density fluctuation. Using an atomic force microscope high-resolution modulus maps of collagen fibril segments, up to 80 μm in length, were acquired at indentation speeds around 10(5) nm/s. The maps revealed a periodic modulation corresponding to the D-period as well as previously undocumented micrometer scale fluctuations. Further analysis revealed a 4/5, gap/overlap, ratio in the measured modulus providing further support for the qua

SUBMITTER: Baldwin SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4213719 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature