70 



MACROMOLECULAR COMPLEXES 



However, when one carefully considers the interpretations of 

 such experiments, it appears likely that, rather than demonstrating 

 an inorganic-organic linkage, the findings are more consistent with 

 the interpretation that the phenomenon represents a diffusion-limit- 

 ing process. Some of the detailed arguments and experiments for 

 such an interpretation have already been presented (Glimcher, 

 1958). 



100 



^ 



60 



40 



20 



25 50 75 



Demineralization (%) 



Fig. 11. Availability of e-DNP-lysyl and hydroxylysyl amino groups of hard- 

 tissue collagens to FDNB during demineralization. O, • denote successive 

 demineralization and dinitrophenylation of ox dentin and human dentin, 

 respectively; +, A, D denote simultaneous demineralization and dinitrophenyla- 

 tion of ox dentin, ox bone, and human dentin, respectively. (From Solomons 

 and Irving, 1958.) 



In brief, these experiments showed ( 1 ) that the number of e-NHj 

 groups in a variety of different bones varied from approximately 35 

 micromoles per gram of collagen, in oxbone, to approximateh' 200- 

 250 micromoles per gram of collagen, in fish bone, and was directly 

 related to the packing and density of the tissues and not to the 

 amount of mineral per gram of organic weight, which was essentialh' 

 the same in all cases (Tables 2A, 2B); (2) that both the number of 



