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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Imaging Denatured Collagen Strands In vivo and Ex vivo via Photo-triggered Hybridization of Caged Collagen Mimetic Peptides
Published on: January 31, 2014
Effect of N- and C-terminal functional groups on the stability of collagen triple helices
Jasmine Egli1, Roman S Erdmann, Pascal J Schmidt
1Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, D-CHAB, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 3, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland. Helma.Wennemers@org.chem.ethz.ch.
Abstract:
The effect of charged versus neutral N- and C-termini on the stability of the collagen triple helix was examined. Thermal denaturation studies at different pH with collagen model peptides showed that an ammonium group at the N-terminus destabilizes the triple helix more than a carboxylate at the C-terminus. A neutral carboxylic acid stabilizes the triple helix more than an amido moiety at the C-terminus.
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