Structural transformation of collagen fibrils in corneal stroma during drying. An x-ray scattering study.
X-ray scattering experiments were performed on human corneas during drying. In a first stage the collagen interfibrillar distance decreased considerably. Then, at a critical point of dehydration, a structural transformation of the collagen fibrils was observed. This finding leads to a two-stage drying model, which explains the discrepancy between the collagen fibril diameters determined by x-ray scattering and by electron microscopy. Our results strongly suggest that the collagen fibrils in the corneal stroma are surrounded by a cylindrical coating made mainly of proteoglycans. The coating appears as a three-dimensional fractal network with fractal dimension of 2.7 +/- 0.1.
Institut für Festkörperphysik der Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria.
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Fratzl
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Daxer
D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D003315:Cornea / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008954:Models, Biological; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D014965:X-Rays
D014867:Water; D003094:Collagen