Reversible Covalent End‐Capping of Collagen Model Peptides

The combination of supramolecular aggregation of collagen model peptides with reversible covalent end‐capping of the formed triple helix in a single experimental set‐up yielded minicollagens, which were characterized by a single melting temperature. In spite of the numerous possible reaction intermediates, a specific synthetic collagen with a leading, middle and trailing strand is formed in a highly cooperative self‐assembly process. Supramolecular assembly of collagen model peptides was combined with reversible covalent end‐capping. The quantitative formation of a single‐capped triple helix was analysed via NMR spectroscopy. This leads to a novel class of end‐capped collagen model peptides with less effort.