Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Masic A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4354200 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Masic Admir A Bertinetti Luca L Schuetz Roman R Chang Shu-Wei SW Metzger Till Hartmut TH Buehler Markus J MJ Fratzl Peter P
Nature communications 20150122
Water is an important component of collagen in tendons, but its role for the function of this load-carrying protein structure is poorly understood. Here we use a combination of multi-scale experimentation and computation to show that water is an integral part of the collagen molecule, which changes conformation upon water removal. The consequence is a shortening of the molecule that translates into tensile stresses in the range of several to almost 100 MPa, largely surpassing those of about 0.3 ...[more]