Influence of laboratory ware related changes in conformational and mechanical properties of collagen

Enzyme‐treated acid‐solubilized bovine collagen (ESBC Type I) prepared in laboratory‐grade glass and polypropylene ware under identical conditions have shown different conformational and mechanical properties. Circular dichroism (CD) studies on ESBC have shown higher triple‐helical contents in polypropylene laboratory‐grade ware compared to laboratory ware of glass. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies have supported the conformational changes performed on both preparations. Both preparations, in membrane form, were evaluated for their mechanical properties—viz., shrinkage temperature (St), dissolution temperature (Dt), and tensile strength (Ts). The collagen membrane of ESBC prepared in polypropylene showed significantly higher values compared to glass ones. No difference was seen in shrinkage temperature data of the two membranes. Reduced viscosity of ESBC was also measured for both preparations, and it had a significantly higher value in polypropylene ware compared to ESBC prepared in glassware. We postulate that the presence of silicate ions (SiO3−2) in glassware has a role in all these changes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 2186–2192, 2003