MACROMOLECULAR AGGREGATES IN CALCIFICATION 



63 



acteristic of the nativc-t\'pe collagen fibril, leading to a precise 

 juxtaposition of amino acid side-chain groups from adjacent macro- 

 molecules. 



Additional confirmation of this steric requisite was obtained by 

 subjecting aliquots of reconstituted native-type collagen fibrils and 



Fig. 6. The steric diflFerences between the reactive side-chain groups of 

 adjacent macromolecules in the native and SLS forms of collagen, diagram- 

 matically portrayed. (From Giimcher, 1959.) 



of demineralized bone collagen to a number of physical and chem- 

 ical agents which destroyed the ordered structure of the fibrils 

 without altering the reactivity of the amino acid side-chain groups. 

 These fibrils lost the ability to induce crystallization ( Fig. 7 ) . 



From the macromolecular organization of the collagen fibrils 



