Nanoscale properties of collagen in ageing

Collagen is the most abundant structural protein in the human body. It is highly conserved across species and is found in our skeleton, tendons, cornea, and skin for example. Although collagen has been widely studied over the past 30 years, the relationship between its structural behaviour and its mechanical properties with ageing still remains poorly understood especially at the molecular level (nano-scale). This research looks at a novel approach to quantify the effects of collagen cross-linking due to ageing at the molecular scale by using both engineered / aged biomimetic collagen matrices. This is an inter-disciplinary approach integrating fields of nanotechnology, tissue engineering and systems biology.