Surface-sensitive Raman spectroscopy of collagen I fibrils

Corinne Gullekson, Leanne Lucas, Kevin Hewitt, Laurent Kreplak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

136 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Collagen fibrils are the main constituent of the extracellular matrix surrounding eukaryotic cells. Although the assembly and structure of collagen fibrils is well characterized, very little appears to be known about one of the key determinants of their biological function-namely, the physico-chemical properties of their surface. One way to obtain surface-sensitive structural and chemical data is to take advantage of the near-field nature of surface-and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Using Ag and Au nanoparticles bound to Collagen type-I fibrils, as well as tips coated with a thin layer of Ag, we obtained Raman spectra characteristic to the first layer of collagen molecules at the surface of the fibrils. The most frequent Raman peaks were attributed to aromatic residues such as phenylalanine and tyrosine. In several instances, we also observed Amide I bands with a full width at half-maximum of 10-30 cm -1. The assignment of these Amide I band positions suggests the presence of 310-helices as well as α-and β-sheets at the fibril's surface.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1837-1845
Number of pages9
JournalBiophysical Journal
Volume100
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 6 2011

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
L.K. and K.H. acknowledge funding from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Biophysics

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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