Abstract
Connective tissues are composite structures containing collagen, elastin, glycosaminoglycans, minerals, water and other minor components1,2. In all cases the collagen exists predominantly in fibrillar form. The size distribution of the fibrils does, however, vary markedly with both age and the mechanical requirements of the tissue3. Little is known about the mechanism of fibril formation in vivo, although some information is now available from in vitro polymerisation studies4. We have now collected new and extensive electron microscope data on the size of collagen fibrils from tendon, skin, cornea and other tissues from both fetal and immature animals. The results reported here show that the diameters of the collagen fibrils thus measured lie close to a multiple of 80 Å, a result which may be simply and readily interpreted in terms of the collagen microfibril and its mode of packing.
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Parry, D., Craig, A. Electron microscope evidence for an 80 Å unit in collagen fibrils. Nature 282, 213–215 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/282213a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/282213a0
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