Abstract
Summary
By use of extraction with neutral salt solutions and acidic solutions of graded ionic strength, purified soluble collagens were obtained from the skins of 1-day-old and 2-year-old rats. The extracted collagens of 1-day-old rats did not differ significantly from those of 2-year-old rats with respect to denaturation temperature, viscosity, or sedimentation velocity. However, collagens obtained from the older as compared with the younger animals did have lesser contents of tyrosine, hexoses, and aldehydes. Contents of ester-like bonds and amino acid composition did not differ in the corresponding collagens of 1-day-old and 2-year-old rats. Significantly, there was a difference in degree of intramolecular crosslinkage between corresponding collagens of young and older rats as demonstrated by the larger contents of β components in the collagens of the 2-year-old animals.
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