The Structure of Collagen within Parchment - A Review

For millennia parchment has been used as a writing material, commonly in the form of books, scrolls or folded sheets. Parchment is made from animal skins, predominantly from calf, sheep or goat. Parchment and skins have the characteristic molecular packing associated with other collagen rich structures such as tendon, aorta, bone and cornea. For medical purposes such tissues are usually analysed as close to the in vivo state as possible (hydrated and not degraded). This has allowed for a wealth of information to be elucidated concerning the structure of collagen and its hierarchical arrangements from the molecular structure to the fibrils to the organisation of fibres in a tissue. The main considerations in understanding the structure of parchment at the molecular level is that parchment exists in the dry state, and that it has been subjected to varying levels of deterioration brought about by external factors. This review centres on the structure of collagen within parchment. Discussed are the in vivo structure of collagen in skin, alterations to the structure of collagen and alterations to the hierarchical arrangement of collagen brought about by the parchment preparation process and deterioration of collagen structure that is associated with parchment degradation over time