Institution: | Physics Laboratory, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Copenhagen, Denmark European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Outstation, c/o DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-2000, Hamburg 52, FRG European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-6900, Heidelberg, FRG European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Grenoble Outstation, BP 156X, F-38041, Grenoble Cédex, France |
Abstract: | The equatorial diffraction pattern of tendon collagen fibres was measured during short successive exposures at different lengths using a double focusing X-ray synchrotron radiation camera with film and with an area detector. Similarly, patterns from thin fibres from premature rats were recorded. The patterns unambiguously illustrate the relationship between fibre crystallinity and the age of the animal. Further, the results indicate that in the initial part of the linear region of the stiffness-versus-length curve, the collagen fibres are characterized by a quasihexagonal arrangement of collagen molecules, whereas at the end of this region, the molecular arrangement becomes hexagonal. |