Unraveling the role of Calcium ions in the mechanical properties of individual collagen fibrils.

ABSTRACT: Collagen, the dominating material in the extracellular matrix, provides the strength, elasticity and mechanical stability to the organisms. The mechanical property of collagen is mainly dominated by its surrounding environments. However, the variation and origin of the mechanics of collagen fibril under different concentrations of calcium ions (χ_Ca) remains unknown. By using the atomic force microscopy based nanoindentation, the mechanics and structure of individual type II collagen fibril were first investigated under different χ_Ca in this study. The results demonstrate that both of the mechanical and structural properties of the collagen fibril show a prominent dependence on χ_Ca. The mechanism of χ_Ca-dependence of the collagen fibril was attrib

SUBMITTER: Pang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5380965 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature