A model has been developed for approximating the free energy of collagen fibril formation (Δ F f ) and the equilibrium solubility of collagen under physiological conditions. The model utilizes an expression of Flory for rodlike polymers, with the modification that the “pure” anisotropic phase is defined as a collagen fibril containing about 0.3 g water/g collagen. The model also assumes that χ 1 , the polymer–solvent interaction term, is entirely due to hydrophobic effects. χ 1 is estimated from hydrophobic bond energies of amino acid side chains, using the results of Némethy and Scheraga. The temperature dependence of χ 1 is utilized to calculate equilibrium solubilities and Δ F f as a function of temperature.
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Donald G. Wallace (1985) studied this question.
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