title: Collagen fibril diameter and leather strength.
abstract: The main structural component of leather and skin is type I collagen in the form of strong fibrils. Strength is an important property of leather, and the way in which collagen contributes to the strength is not fully understood. Synchrotron-based small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is used to measure the collagen fibril diameter of leather from a range of animals, including sheep and cattle, that had a range of tear strengths. SAXS data were fit to a cylinder model. The collagen fibril diameter and tear strength were found to be correlated in bovine leather (r(2) = 0.59; P = 0.009), with stronger leather having thicker fibrils. There was no correlation between orientation index, i.e., fibril alignment, and fibril diameter for this data set. Ovine leather showed no correlation between tear strength and fibril diameter, nor was there a correlation across a selection of other animal leathers. The findings presented here suggest that there may be a different structural motif in skin compared with tendon, particularly ovine skin or leather, in which the diameter of the individual fibrils contributes less to strength than fibril alignment does.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University , Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand 4442.
authors.forename: Hannah C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Edmonds
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hawley
authors.forename: Stephen T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Mudie
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Haverkamp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D012756:Sheep; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen