Aug. 02, 2010

Nanomechanics of Collagen Fibrils

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human or animal body. It is found in ligaments, tendons, skin, cartilage, bones, cornea, sclera (white of the eye), and blood vessels to name but a few. All of these tissues are biomechanically important; therefore, knowing the mechanical properties of collagen at all hierarchical levels or length-scales is of critical importance. Our studies have concentrated on the mechanics of collagen fibrils from bovine Achilles tendon, which is a self-assembly of aligned monomeric tropocollagen molecules. more