How Does the Interaction of Water with Collagen Lead to Pretension in Our Connective Tissues?

Peter Fratzl

The connective tissues in our body – such as skin, tendon, or bones – all contain a molecule called collagen. When you cut your skin, it springs open. This shows that the tissues in our body are under pretension. The research presented in this video is interested in the question of whether the interaction of collagen with water causes this tension. The researchers found, as PETER FRATZL explains, that the pretension comes from the contraction of the collagen molecules which is due to a competition for water between collagen and the sugar-rich molecules that surround them. By using synchrotron diffraction, the group managed to show that this leads to a conformational change of this helix; it shortens and creates enormous stresses. These findings are relevant for research in regenerative medicine as well as research into the uses of osmotic pressure for complex movements and force generation more generally.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10399

Researcher

Peter Fratzl is Director of the Department of Biomaterials at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. He is also Chair of the Chemistry-Physics-Engineering Section of the Max Planck Society as well as a Member of the Hermann von Helmholtz Centre for Cultural Techniques, Humboldt University Berlin. In 2015, he was elected as Member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. His research focus includes biomimetic materials and bone and mineral research with biomedical applications. Up to date, he has published more than 450 articles and books. He was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in 2010.

Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces

Colloids and interfaces consist of very small or thin structures with linear dimensions between nanometers and micrometers. On the one hand, the possible structures represent a „world of hidden dimensions“. On the other hand, the dynamics and structures of these small entities determine the behavior of much larger systems such as organisms. A more systematic understanding of colloids and interfaces is a prerequisite for many innovations, such as „smart“ drug delivery systems and biomaterials. Such a deeper understanding can only arise from an interdisciplinary approach that combines chemical synthesis and biomimetic materials science with physical analysis and characterization as well as theoretical modelling. The nano- and microstructures that are investigated at the MPICI are built up from special, even smaller molecules, which are using the principle of “self assembly” to construct ordered structures.