Open Access

ARTICLE

Thermal Degradation of Type I Collagen from Bones

M. L. Lambri^1,2, E. D. Giordano^2,3, P. B. Bozzano⁴, F. G. Bonifacich², J. I. Pérez-Landazábal^5,6, G. I. Zelada², D. Gargicevich², V. Recarte^5,6, O. A. Lambri^2*

1 Faculty of Humanities and Arts, National University of Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
2 CONICET–UNR, Materials Laboratory, School of Electrical Engineering, Center for Technology and Electrical Research, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Engineering and Land Surveying, Avda. Pellegrini 250, 2000 Rosario, Argentina
3 CONICET–UNR, Area of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rosario, Argentina
4 Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Materials Activity Unit, Constituyentes Atomic Center, National Atomic Energy Commission and the Institute Sabato – National University of San Martín, Avda. Gral Paz 1499, (1650) San Martín, Argentina
5 Department of Physics, Public University of Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía, 31006 Pamplona, Spain
6 Institute for Advanced Materials (INAMAT), Public University of Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía, 31006 Pamplona, Spain

*Corresponding author:

Journal of Renewable Materials 2016, 4(4), 251-257. https://doi.org/10.7569/JRM.2016.634111

Abstract

The denaturation processes of collagen in the temperature range between 450 K and 670 K are revealed through studies performed on cow rib bones by means of mechanical spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The conformational change of the collagen molecules from a triple helix structure to a random coil was found at around 510 K. It was determined that the transformation is developed through the viscous movement of fibrils with an activation energy of (127 ± 8) kJ/mol. The second stage of massive bulk deterioration of the collagen was found at around 600 K, which leads to the loss of the mechanical integrity of the bulk collagen. In addition, an easy-to-handle viscoelastic procedure for obtaining the activation energy of the denaturation process from mechanical spectroscopy studies was also shown.

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Keywords

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