1 Link-Lock: the mechanism of stabilising collagen by chemical reactions.

An analysis of chemistries known to confer high hydrothermal stability to collagen has arrived at a series of conditions that must be met. These include the formation of a stable supramolecular matrix, which must be firmly bound to the collagen triple helices. In most stabilising reactions, the chemical reactions are limited to linking elements of the collagen structure to a relatively unstable matrix. Typically, this linking step confers only moderate hydrothermal stability because the matrix is readily displaced by shrinking. In those chemical processes which result in high hydrothermal stability, the linking step is combined with an additional step that locks the components of the matrix together. In this way, the matrix acts like a single chemical compound, which is much less easily displaced