Collagen models:synthesis,conformational studies and applications in works of art

摘要

The most commonly used techniques for the identification of proteinaceous binding media are staining,as well as chromatography and spectrometry.Immunological techniques(such as RIA,Radio Immunoassay,or ELISA,Enzyme-Linked Immunoassay)have been proposed as an alternative method for this purpose,although no systematic studies have been carried out until now.In this study,sequential polypeptides(Pro-X-Gly)_n,where X represents amino residues Val,Lys,Glu,and(Hyp-Val-Gly)_n were prepared and studied as models of collagen,which has been widely used as binding medium in works of art.Conformational properties of the polypeptides were evaluated by circular dichroism(CD)studies and compared with type I collagen from calf skin.Immunization experiments in rabbits using collagen and its synthetic models are now in progress.The obtained antibodies will be used for the immunological detection of collagen and collagen fragments in artificially and naturally aged samples as follows:development of reference ELISA using artificially coated samples of collagen and models,as well as authentic samples.ELISA plates coated with collagen or collagen models will be"protected"by the anti-collagen antibodies obtained from animal immunizations and then will be subjected to artificial aging.This approach is expected to provide new insights in the conservation processes.