CRYSTALLINE-STRUCTURE OF COLLAGEN FIBRILS IN TENDON

New data have been collected on the crystalline structure of collagen fibrils in tendon. The unit cell in decrimped tendon has been determined by measurements of the Bragg reflections in the X-ray diffraction pattern. The results are consistent with a triclinic cell with b = 75.5 A ̊, β = 93 °, a = b sinβ, a = 90 °, c = n × 668 A ̊, where n is probably 4 and γ = 90 °. A selection rule observed for prominent reflections is explicable either in terms of a specific orientation of the microfibrils on the lattice, or by a helical distortion of the microfibril axis. The cell parameter β can be varied by changing the ionic envirionment. © 1979.