The Kinetics of the Thermal Denaturation of Collagen in Unrestrained Rat Tail Tendon Determined by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

This paper shows that the position and shape of the denaturation endothem of collagen fibrils are governed by the kinetics of an irreversible rate process. This was proved by measuring the rate of denaturation in rat tail tendons held isothermally at different temperatures, thereby determining rate constant characteristics such as the activation enthalpy and entropy and predicting endotherm position and shape therefrom. Comparison with actual...