Liquid crystalline phases of sonicated type I collagen
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Updated: Oct 17, 2026

In vitro Synthesis of Native, Fibrous Long Spacing and Segmental Long Spacing Collagen
Published on: September 20, 2012
1Centre de Biologie Cellulaire CNRS, Ivry-sur-Seine, France.
Abstract:
The assembly properties of concentrated solutions of type I collagen molecules are compared before and after a 5-min sonication, breaking the 300-nm triple helices into short segments of about 20 nm, with a strong polydispersity. The collagen concentration of these solutions, sonicated or not, was increased up to 100 mg/ml by slow evaporation of the solvent. Whereas the non-sonicated solutions remain isotropic, the sonicated solutions transform after a few hours into a twisted liquid crystalline phase, well recognizable in polarizing microscopy. The evidence of a twisted assembly of collagen triple helices in vitro is new and relevant in a biological context since it was reported in various collagen matrices.
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